Hero Club
by TheCartoonFanatic01
Summary: A loner by default, Izuku Midoriya always wanted to be like the protagonist of his favorite manga: a Hero. So he becomes one. Then, more and more of his classmates get interested in this idea, and the Hero Club is born. How could this possibly go wrong? Well, real life. That's how. Quirkless AU! IzuMina, Bacchako! Warning: OOC behavior in first few chapters! R&R!
1. The Real World Isn't a Manga

**A/N:** Hey, everyone! Welcome to my first "My Hero Academia" fic! I've been a fan ever since I properly learned about it during my memorable first visit to Comic-Con last year. Before then, I fleetingly heard its name being passed around in a number of anime circles, but I wasn't intrigued enough to check it out back then. But when I accompanied my cousins to Comic-Con, I learned they were huge fans, they recommended it, and I eventually tried it out when it debuted on Adult Swim's Toonami block. And the rest is history.

Anyway, I was further inspired to write a fic for MHA after reading Ooobserver's own first try, titled "The Turnover". For a first fic for a new fandom, it's a really great piece. Short but to the point, its characterization is spot-on accurate, the plot and humor are excellently written, and its secondary purpose to parody the film "The Hangover" did its quality a superb service. I recommend it if you want to get some laughs from an MHA fic. Anyway, I read the whole thing in two sittings and was super-motivated to try out an MHA project of my own.

And here we are. I sincerely hope this fic will be a good read even if I'm a total newbie to the fandom. Rest assured, I'm trying my best here, even if this is supposed to be an AU fic where the rules are a little more loose than usual.

Alright, I think I'm done talking. On with the first chapter. ENJOY!

**Edit:** The latest reviews I've been getting as of this writing have convinced me to implement this little disclaimer. There WILL be OOC behavior on the part of some of the major characters for the first few chapters. That is intentional and just a part of their story arcs in this fic. Things WILL get better as we go along, I promise you guys, but for now, you'll have to bear with it.

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own "My Hero Academia" at all! All claims of ownership go to Kōhei Horikoshi and all of the great and hardworking people at Shueisha, Bones, and VIZ Media.

* * *

Inside a certain classroom, one boy's green eyes were glazed with hope and idealism as he scanned through the manga that fit snugly in his hands. His soul took in the encouraging and uplifting words that were bursting out from the speech bubbles. The tension, suspense, and buildup to the volume's climactic finale was drawing him further and further into the world he had been invested in ever since he was in junior high.

A world full of superheroes, ripped straight out of an American comic book. Oh, how he wished to be a part of that world. But instead, he was stuck with what he got...

"Midoriya? _Midoriya_? Izuku Midoriya."

The scrawny green-haired boy didn't listen. Instead, he was totally absorbed in the pages of the newest manga volume, engrossed with every last panel. As soon as he was done with the current page, he flipped it and-

**_BAM!_**

"AGH!"

For a fleeting moment, Izuku thought his own book had exploded because he had just flipped to a single panel that took up an entire page, depicting an explosion. In his surprise, he flipped his manga into the air and then, with a cry of terror, struggled to catch it. However, he wound up juggling it from one hand to the next and back, like a poor, struggling circus performer. This pitiful display drew jeering snickers and chuckles from all directions. Once the manga was safely back in his hands, Izuku released a drawn-out sigh of immense relief.

Then, he saw the hand resting on his desk. He slowly inched his head upward, scanning the entire arm, then he reached the shoulder, then the perpetually exhausted and pale, but nevertheless sharp-eyed face of his teacher.

"AGH!" Izuku squeaked. "A-A-Aizawa-sensei!"

With pursed lips, the man's pupils focused on the book in Izuku's hands. The boy held on to it protectively, even though he already knew what the outcome was going to be.

"That's the third time now," Aizawa said with a droning voice, "and we're only in our second week of the semester. Not a very fine record you're setting up for yourself, especially after the last semester."

"I'm-I'm sorry, Aizawa-sensei! I-I promise, I'll-"

Aizawa crossed his arms. "Do you take school seriously, Midoriya?"

Izuku was taken aback. "H-Huh...?"

"I'll repeat myself, Midoriya. Do. You. Take. School. _Seriously_?"

Unresponsive, the poor, hapless teenage boy stared into his teacher's eyes with terror. Those eyes...surely they were the devil's eyes. A single look at them would leave anyone powerless. And unfortunately, as a common target of those eyes, Izuku could do nothing, except perhaps project a familiar manga character onto his teacher.

Another wave of quiet and mocking giggling swept the classroom. Aizawa's eyes narrowed with a mixture of discontent and irritation, and he snatched the manga out of Izuku's hands.

"No, wait!" the boy cried in what was more of a pathetic squeal than an actual scream. "That's-That's my-"

Aizawa read the cover. "_Our Hero Academia_. Ah, yes. So this is the manga that's been making the rounds lately."

"Ye-_Yeah_..." Izuku stuttered fearfully, and with embarrassment at having his manga-reading hobbies exposed so publicly. "So...if you'd please...g-give it back-"

"I'll only give it back if you answer my question. And sit up straight."

Izuku straightened up like a rigid board. "O-Of course! Uh...wh-what was your question?!"

Aizawa's eyes narrowed even more. "You just answered it."

With that, he began walking back towards his desk, manga in hand. Izuku let out a high-pitched scream that was not a far cry from a little girl's, as he reached desperately at his teacher's direction.

"_Please_, Aizawa-sensei! That's the newest volume!"

"You will have it back when school is over. In the meantime, I want you to think long and hard about your future. In just two years, you will be on the cusp of adulthood and entering a society that expects nothing but the best of your ability."

Aizawa showed the cover of the manga volume to the entire class, and tapped the bottom of the page where the author's name was, and continued, "Like it or not, the world of your manga is not _our_ world. It is simply the creation of one man, Toshinori Yagi." He briefly looked at the cover with distaste. "Seeking solace in a realm of make-believe, no matter how comforting it can be, eventually leads you down a path that's guaranteed to bring you nothing but self-destruction. This is a truth you need to understand, Izuku Midoriya, for your own sake."

To his own surprise, Izuku quickly shot up from his chair and shouted defiantly, "But Aizawa-sensei!"

"But _what_, Midoriya?"

Aizawa didn't speak any further, but his voice was extremely deadly and the class fell silent. Izuku knew right away what the consequences were if he continued that discussion, so he sat back down with defeat.

"_Nothing_..." he replied, his voice barely audible.

* * *

"So, where do you guys wanna go for the weekend?!"

"I dunno, Ashido. You're the one who plans these events; you tell me!"

"Oh, come on, I can't be the only one with an idea, Kaminari! Come on, suggestions, suggestions!"

Izuku sighed as he plucked some rice out of his mother's bento box with his chopsticks. He stared at the individual grains and took notice of a slightly discolored one before throwing all of them into his mouth.

"Hey, guys. Is the study group still on?"

"Indeed. Yaoyorozu just received express approval from her parents to invite us over to her fine home."

"...What Iida said, Shoji."

Izuku stared longingly at the teacher's desk, which had been unoccupied since the start of lunch. Following the incident during homeroom period, Aizawa had left specific instructions for the other teachers to keep the volume under lock and key until the end of the school day. Every last teacher was quick to acquiesce to these instructions.

Usually, Izuku would wait. But Aizawa just _had_ to spot him while he was in the middle of an exciting action sequence!

"We'll be swimming for P.E. first thing next week, Tokoyami. Ohhhhh, I can't wait to see the girls in their rocking school swimsuits! And then I'll sneak into their locker room and I'll-"

"You really have no shame, do you, Mineta?"

Izuku gritted his teeth at the unbearable sight of the desk. The brand-new polished wooden frame was almost mocking him, taunting him about his recent loss. He desperately wanted to get the volume out of there and continue reading it to his heart's desire, at least until lunch was over.

But, knowing the likes of Iida and Yaoyorozu, he would be ratted out the moment Kayama-sensei entered the classroom.

"H-He-Hey, O-O-Ojiro..."

"Oh, hey there, Koda! You wanna review our history homework?"

"Mm-hm, mm-hm!"

"Okay! Lemme just get out my binder..."

After contemplating his decision for just a brief moment, Izuku decided against that risky course of action. Instead, he unzipped his torn backpack, reached inside, and pulled out another volume of _Our Hero Academia_, the penultimate one in circulation as of now. With a smile, he opened up the manga and went to the first page. Even if he finished reading it a while back, it was still a treat scouring through its pages again...

He had gotten to the fifth page when a hand plucked the book out of Izuku's hands without warning.

"H-HEY!" the boy shouted.

Izuku was expecting to see Aizawa's razor-sharp eyes again. Instead, he was greeted with a pair of fiery pupils.

"Hey, Midoriya," Katsuki Bakugo said, his voice slow and venomous as a mocking sneer formed upon his face. "Whatcha reading?" He looked at the cover of the manga and let out a single, derisive laugh. "_Another_ one of your retarded otaku manga? Gimme a _break_! D'you _ever_ spend a day _not_ reading this steaming pile of crap?!"

"Yeah, you tell the otaku, Bakugo!" called one of the sycophantic voices from Katsuki's close-knit circle of friends.

Izuku wanted to protest, but he couldn't muster the energy in his vocal cords to utter out a single sound of defiance. And how could he? Katsuki was everything he was not; he always had been ever since they were children. Excellent at sports, popular in school, girls gushing in his presence, a natural-born leader with a bright future ahead of him... To defy a pillar of the student community was a sin of itself!

Therefore, all Izuku could do was tremble in his seat and hold back tears. It was the same old story every time.

Upon observing his inferior classmate's terrified form, Katsuki's sneer became even more pronounced, and he started to wave the manga tauntingly in front of his face.

"What's the matter, Midoriya?" he asked. "Want your little storybook back?"

"I-I-It's not a storybook, B-Ba-Bakugo!" Izuku protested, his brain reeling from the task of finding the most appropriate words to say next. "It's-It's-"

Katsuki arched an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Not a storybook, you say? Well, lemme take a look for myself..." The blond boy opened up the manga volume and slowly flipped through the pages, his smirk still in place. "Gay, gay, _double_-gay..." He paused on one particular page and immediately burst out into rambunctious laughter. "Da fuck is _this shit_?! Guys, come here, come take a look at this!"

Springing up from their seats were Katsuki's friends: the sycophantic right-hand man, Eijiro Kirishima; the charming and highly perverted womanizer, Denki Kaminari; the dim-witted lackey, Hanta Sero; the conceited, irritating Frenchman-or-not, Yuga Aoyama; and the seductive ganguro, Mina Ashido. They all joined Katsuki in viewing the manga volume, which further compounded Izuku's embarrassment.

"'Sup, Bakugo?" Eijiro asked. He peered over Katsuki's shoulder, his spiky black hair grazing and mingling with the other boy's blond hair, and spotted the manga panel in question. "What the _hell_?! HAHAHA! That's fucking _hilarious_!"

The others joined Katsuki and Eijiro in their revelry. Izuku lowered his head to his desk in embarrassment, issuing a soft, almost inaudible moan. He could not see what page Katsuki was on, but judging by the amount of pages he flipped and his expression of sheer, mocking joy, he was probably on the part where the protagonist, Mikumo Akatani, was literally crying powerful geysers out of his eyes.

"Wow, Midoriya!" Mina squealed. "That kid looks a lot like you!"

"Yeah!" added Denki. "And he has to be as lame as you if he's crying like that!"

"Indeed," Yuga said dramatically, "the stupidity of this one is _magnifique_!"

"Hey, remember when Bakugo dunked his notebook into the toilet last week?!" Hanta exclaimed, his eyes brightening up with nostalgia. "Midoriya was _so close_ to looking just like that dweeb!"

"That was three days ago, idiot," Katsuki spat, but he was still grinning wildly. "But yeah, I _do_ remember that." The blond leaned in towards Izuku, so he could speak directly into his ear. "Though I really don't think anyone can outclass Midoriya in terms of dweebness, whether or not they're in some stupid kids' manga!"

Izuku's head shot up, and his green eyes met Katsuki's deep-hazel ones.

"I-It's not a st-st-stupid m-m-ma-ma-ma-"

He was so close to completing his protest, but words seemed to fail him at the last minute. He could only stare into those horrendous, bestial eyes with helplessness gripping his very soul like a vice.

"What's wrong, Midoriya?" Katsuki ground his teeth together with glee, and the aura flowing from his body was becoming predatory. "Can't bring yourself to convince me that your lil' piece of shit manga is anything but?"

"He probably _knows_ it's shit," Eijiro suggested. "He just keeps readin' it because they go hand in hand."

Denki laughed out loud for a moment before replying, "Well of course a douchebag knows a fellow douchebag when they see one!"

The group started boisterously laughing in unison, further reducing Izuku into a powerless, neurotic blob. The boy sat in his seat miserably and simply took it all in as his lower lip quivered.

"Awwwww, looky here, guys!" Hanta cried, forming his trademark toothy sneer. "Lil' baby Midoriya's gonna cry again!"

"My God, how pathetic!" replied Mina, her voice loud and boisterous. With a horrific grin, she tapped Izuku hard on the forehead with her index and middle fingers, using enough force that Izuku's head was left reeling. "Are you _really_ gonna wimp out and cry over a silly manga?!"

Suddenly, Katsuki got an idea, and he clasped the fingers of his right hand over a single page. As for his left hand, it took the spine of the manga and started pulling at it lightly but precariously. Izuku could hear the paper strain a little from the force Katsuki was putting into his grip.

"Hey, hey, hey..." he snarled viciously, catching the attention of his peers. "Let's see how this baby reacts when we tear this dumb thing apart!"

Izuku felt his heart stop beating, and he could already imagine the group of six mercilessly ripping up the whole book to shreds, like a pack of hyenas feasting upon the corpse of their latest catch...

Another hand suddenly placed itself Katsuki's shoulder, catching his attention and interrupting the debauchery. He turned around and scowled nastily at the newcomer.

"Whaddaya want, Four-Eyes?!" he snapped.

Tenya Iida frowned disapprovingly at him and replied in a frustratingly professional tone, "I believe that's enough of your harassment. As your class representative, I cannot allow you to continue tormenting your classmate in this manner. Not only are you six disturbing him, but you are also disturbing your other classmates as they are enjoying lunch in here. It is very disrespectful of all of you to bother your peers right before the next period begins! Kaminari, look at me while I'm talking to you!"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you, Dad," Denki responded nonchalantly. However, instead of heeding Tenya's order, he continued to stare at the well-endowed chest of a female classmate, his lips glistening like they were caked with glaze.

"If you six insist on continuing this distracting activity, then you will leave me with no choice but to inform the teacher!"

"Fucking tattletale," Katsuki spat. "You've got no business telling me what to do, you stuck-up fa-"

"Watch your mouth, Bakugo!" another voice shouted; it was the girl that Denki was ogling, Momo Yaoyorozu. "You don't want to be sent to detention again, do you? And right before this weekend's baseball game?"

The blond boy cursed violently under his breath, while the rest of his group went back to their original spot, one by one, with ambivalent and irritated expressions. Knowing that he now had Katsuki cornered, Tenya held out his hand.

"Now give the manga to me," he ordered sternly.

Katsuki cursed inaudibly again before forcing the book into the class representative's hands. Izuku winced as the page he had been planning on tearing was ruthlessly crumpled in the process.

"Here," Katsuki said with a guttural voice. Then, he gave Izuku a chilling glare that he could be clearly read as _"Be lucky Four-Eyes was here to cover your ass"_ or something along those lines. Nevertheless, the boy breathed out a sigh of relief when Katsuki stomped back to his group.

"Thank you, Iida," Izuku said once the bully was out of earshot. "I-"

"As for _you_, Midoriya..." The boy froze at the terrifying sight of Tenya's sharp, judgmental stare. "You were given explicit instructions to stop reading this manga in the classroom."

"H-Huh?! B-But-"

"I don't care if it's lunch right now. Class is about to begin in a few minutes and you've had a bad habit of preoccupying yourself with these...these subpar works of literature while your teachers work very hard in instilling knowledge into your mind, knowledge that is _infinitely_ more useful than this." He raised the manga so Izuku could stare at its colorful cover helplessly. "Tell me, Midoriya, why do you choose to prioritize this manga over your academic studies? What value does this have for it to draw you away from your schoolwork?"

Izuku blushed lightly with embarrassment. He could tell Tenya so many things about why he valued manga, but he knew the two of them lived in virtually different worlds. His verbal manifesto would be met with confusion and disapproval.

"I...I just like to read..." the green-haired boy replied simply.

Tenya's lips puckered noticeably, and his lower lip jutted out a little from under his upper lip in a way that made him look unintentionally snobbish. "Well, by that definition, Midoriya, textbooks can be read just as easily as this manga, yet you'd space out before you even complete the first sentence."

"Well, textbooks are different! They're...They're, uh..." Izuku struggled to find the most appropriate adjective that he can use. "B-_Boring_..."

"Boring," Tenya repeated.

Izuku nodded meekly. "Mm-hm..."

"I see. So your inability to learn stems from the lack of entertainment you perceive within this education institution."

"I...I guess..." But Izuku tilted his head like a confused puppy. "C-Can you repeat that in five words or less...?"

Tenya's glasses suddenly shone from the bright, golden light that peered through the windows right next to Izuku. This intimidating look brought a sudden chill down the boy's spine. Every time he saw that stare, he knew Tenya would be a great disciplinarian of a teacher, in the vein of Aizawa.

"You think school is boring."

"B-_Boring_?!" Izuku hesitated before slowly answering, "I don't think so..."

Tenya was clearly not convinced. Even Izuku was not convinced by his own claim. Immediately, the class representative pursed his lips even more and closed the manga; the soft clap of its paper filled the room for only a split-second. At that point, Izuku realized that everyone's eyes were trained on him, their stares just as judgmental as Aizawa's.

Then, Tenya's next words cut through his heart like a new sword against a fabric curtain.

"You will _never_ accomplish anything in life, Midoriya."

* * *

"Thank you, Ishiyama-sensei..."

The rotund, stern-faced man gave Izuku a disappointed look as he stuffed both manga volumes into his backpack, taking great care in doing so. Then, with a heavy sigh, the green-haired boy walked out of the classroom and joined the rest of the student populace in the hallway. The evening sun shone brightly through the windows, bathing everyone with light. Due to Izuku's smaller stature, he happened to be cast in the shadows of everyone else.

**_"You will _never_ accomplish anything in life, Midoriya."_**

Izuku sighed again. _"Iida's right. I've never been good at anything. I scrape through all of my classes by just a couple of points. I'm the last person anyone wants on a sports team. I can only last one full minute in a conversation before I start stuttering and embarrassing myself. There aren't any school clubs that catch my interest. Even the Manga & Anime Club turns me off because the members have realistic expectations of themselves._

_"And even if I made an effort to care about my future...it'd be for naught. I've never been able to connect with anything in society. I don't know if I have some mental condition or just a pure lack of emotional investment. Either way, t__he only thing I really care about is manga and the worlds that they present to readers. Especially_ Our Hero Academia_." _He sighed once again._ "I wish we were living in that world, not here. At least I can connect to the rules of that world..."  
_

He stopped just a couple of feet away from a classroom door. It was open and students were filing out, ready to go home and call it a day. He watched each and every one of them carefully, all the while absorbed in his thoughts.

_"No one could understand how I feel. No one. Even I know how silly my beliefs are, yet they're the only thing I have."_

He spotted her, but this time, the sight of her didn't lift Izuku's spirits, a rare occurrence, a phenomenon in its own right. Nevertheless, he still followed her and her friends as they chatted about things that weren't of his concern.

_"Uraraka has a dream that's within her reach. She wants to get a good job in a great business so she could help her folks back home. That's something anyone could do. ...Anyone except me, that is."_

Izuku stared into the back of her head, admiring how her flowing chestnut-brown hair just glimmered with the sunlight, as if it was like a waterfall of chocolate. He could barely hear her voice over the cacophony of the other students, but it still wasn't too hard to decipher. If he was close enough, he'd smell the soothing fragrance of the shampoo she'd use. Of course, he couldn't touch her skin, lest he be reported for sexual harassment, but he could easily imagine it being rather smooth and soft, like silk.

Izuku sighed again.

_"Uraraka definitely has her future thought out already. She knows what she wants in her life."_

By that point, the student body was pouring out of the school building and dispersing. Izuku followed her group for a few steps and saw them turn left as soon as they reached the sidewalk. The girls walked side by side, a unified group bound by common interests, things Izuku wouldn't concern himself with, ultimately. They were most likely heading towards one of their homes so they could have a sleepover or something. Girl stuff.

Izuku was tracing their steps, guided almost by instinct.

_"Uraraka knows what she wants...and it doesn't involve me in any way..."_ He finally broke away from the group of girls and headed right, towards the setting sun. _"I guess it's just me and my silly little daydreams."_

Izuku kept his head low as he entered the town that neighbored his school to the east. It had no distinctive hallmarks to its name, simply having the usual convenience store, pharmacy, flower shop, and so on and so forth. Pedestrians milled on the cracked, outdated sidewalks, with nothing to do except possibly clean up the grimy, unsightly articles of trash that littered the streets. Not that anyone wanted to put the time and effort to do so...

This was a daily sight in the dainty, moderately-sized town that Izuku called home. Normalcy was the word of the day all the time...at least during the day itself...

Izuku entered the convenience store; grabbed one of the colored, labeled baskets sitting next to the door; and pulled out a faded, crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket. After unfolding it and smoothing it out, the green-haired boy read the familiar handwriting of his mother.

"Alright, let's see..." he said to himself. "Milk, bread, eggs..."

He proceeded to go down the aisles in search of the required groceries. It didn't take long for him to find everything his mother wanted; after all, it was a medium-sized convenience store with a layout even a five-year-old could memorize. A couple of minutes passed when Izuku grabbed the last item, stuffed it in the basket, and strolled up to the cash register.

There, Izuku saw Kyoka Jiro, a fellow schoolmate, standing behind the counter. Her face was emotionless and wearing a bored frown while she tugged uncomfortably at the collar of her work uniform. All the while, she was listening to some of her favorite rock music on her iPod.

Izuku wordlessly placed the basket on top of the counter, allowing Kyoka to wordlessly take each individual item, scan it, and put it into a brown plastic bag. Eventually, once the last of the items were scanned, she calculated the price total on the register, her fingertips pressing down on each button automatically and without any sort of gusto, as if she was some sort of robot.

"That'll be 3,000 yen," she droned absentmindedly.

Izuku gave her the appropriate amount of yen, and she gave him the appropriate amount of change. Then, he took the basket and the plastic bags, and was about to leave when he heard a voice shout out to the high heavens, startling them both.

"JIRO! WHAT'D I TELL YOU ABOUT USING THOSE DAMN EARPHONES?!"

"Alright, alright, I got it!" Kyoka snapped angrily. With gritted teeth, and a single but sharp curse underneath her breath, she removed her earphones and stuffed them into her pocket.

Heaving out a relieved sigh, Izuku returned the basket to the place where he found it, and slung the plastic bags over his elbow. Then, he spotted the tip jar, which still contained the yen he left behind the last time he was there. Nevertheless, he produced some spare change from his pocket and dropped it into the jar, hearing the pieces of metal clink softly upon impact with the glass. He then looked over his shoulder to see if Kyoka noticed, but unsurprisingly, she was still listening to her music. Not that it mattered anyway.

Izuku stepped back outside, being immediately greeted by a soft, cool breeze. He then took a deep breath and exhaled through his mouth. The breeze suddenly picked up a little, and a newspaper article glided across the ground among the rest of the garbage, before finally coming to a halt at Izuku's feet. The bold, aggressive headline displayed itself to him, bare, as if beckoning him to read it.

**_OUTSMARTED! POLICE RELEASE SUSPECTED YAKUZA MEMBERS_**

Izuku blinked idly before resuming his walk, all the while lamenting his lack of surprise at the headline.

Speaking of reading headlines, Izuku decided to start where he left off. Stopping by a lamppost, the scrawny boy took off his half-opened bag, reached inside, and procured the latest volume of _Our Hero Academia_. A legitimate smile crept on his face as he opened up the book and scoured through its pages, seeking out the explosion panel. Once he found it, he put his backpack back on and started walking again, all the while reading absentmindedly.

The Joint Training Arc was in its closing stages, and Mikumo Akatani's team, the last one representing Class 1-A, was in the middle of a combat training exercise against the final team of Class 1-B students. Things weren't going too well for Mikumo's team; the Class 1-B students were gaining the upper hand with their powers, and Mikumo and his teammates were backed into a corner. Then, at the very last minute, Mikumo got an idea, one that could quite possibly turn the tide of the match, though Izuku never got to find out what it was.

He had been so absorbed in his reading that he did not notice the baseball, painted to resemble a green grenade, rolling up onto the concrete in front of him. In one second, he was looking down at the panels of the manga volume. In the next second, he was splayed on the sidewalk, looking up at the evening sky pathetically. His arms no longer felt heavy, and he felt something wet pooling all around his right side.

"Wow, nice going there, klutz!" a familiar voice shouted. "Way to keep your nose stuck in that book!"

Izuku closed his green eyes with disbelief. _"Just my luck..."_ he thought grimly.

"Hey, wait a minute!" another familiar voice exclaimed. "Isn't that Midoriya?"

"Huh?" a third voice asked. "...Oh, yeah! It _is_ him! Hey, you guys! Speak of the devil! It's that wimp Midoriya!"

With a defeated sigh, Izuku sat up and rubbed his sore, wet back, the back of his mind sadly realizing his milk and eggs broke during the fall. Then, he saw about a dozen ominous shadows approaching and looked to his left. Katsuki's group was approaching him, exiting the humble baseball field that was the centerpiece of the small local park. Mina was gone and replaced with even more of Katsuki's faithful followers: the narcissistic Neito Monoma, the cruel yet comically named Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, the older but timid Tamaki Amajiki, and the stoic Hitoshi Shinso.

_"Great,"_ Izuku thought grimly as he took note of the boys' grimy civilian clothes and the silver bat in Katsuki's hands. _"I interrupted their baseball practice. As if I didn't have enough trouble for today..."_

"Yo, Midoriya!" Katsuki snapped savagely, pointing at him with his bat. "Throw that ball back to us."

"H-Huh?" Izuku looked down at the peculiar ball, which had just innocently rolled up to the side of his foot, almost as if it wanted him to partake in that order. "Y-You mean _this_?"

"No, I'm talking about that block of concrete- HELL YEAH, THE BASEBALL! What else do ya think I'm talking 'bout? Come on, man." The blond abruptly lowered the sport club to the ground, letting its blunt tip touch the ground while he leaned coolly against the handle. "Throw it over. We haven't got all day."

Izuku knew what was going to happen. This was one of many scripts of virtually the same thing...and if he tried to resist, there would be more hell to pay. No one said no to Katsuki Bakugo and got away with it.

So, he picked up the baseball and, with a trembling arm, feebly threw it over to Katsuki. It bounced pathetically towards the group, the noise of its individual impacts soft and weak. As soon as it got to Katsuki on the fifth bounce, he bent over so he could catch it.

"Weak," the blond said calmly. "Try it again, Midoriya."

Izuku was crestfallen at the defeat of his counter-strategy. "_Again_...?"

"Yeah, again. I know you're stronger than that." He confidently bounced the baseball on the palm of his hand. "So throw it like you're in a game and your team's one point behind."

He threw it back to Izuku, who screamed and ducked, thinking he put too much force into the throw. As a result, the ball flew over the weak, hapless boy and bounced over on the opposite end of the street.

"Wow, pathetic!" Eijiro shouted. "My fucking grandma wouldn't flinch at that!"

"He's so lame," Neito remarked, flipping several strands of his hair from his forehead conceitedly. "No wonder everyone can sense him from a mile away. His lameness is a smell of its own! He's not cut out for anything!"

"Come ON, man!" snapped Hanta. "Bakugo needs to finish the game before we go home! There's no way we're gonna be left hangin'!"

The other boys, sans Katsuki, joined Hanta in his irritation and outrage, shouting a barrage of insults at Izuku's direction. He looked from the group to the baseball and back, wondering if he should seize this opportunity to make a run for it.

But he knew if he did, he wouldn't hear the end of it once he returned to school...

The boys' shouts were suddenly silenced. Katsuki lowered his raised hand and scowled nastily at Izuku.

"You'd better get that ball before it goes down in the gutter," he snarled. "That's my lucky ball, Midoriya."

With a sigh, Izuku crossed the street and picked up the baseball. For a moment, he stared at its painted-green exterior, pondering the strange choice of colors and alarming sense of design. Then, he heard Katsuki call out to him again.

"Throw it from there, Midoriya! And you'd fucking better not gimme any of that girly throwin' again! I wanna see some of that raw power!"

"Yeah!" Eijiro added. "And if you disappoint us again..."

Izuku heard some faint shuffling from the opposite side of the street. He gasped with a horrified realization and looked at Katsuki's group. In his haste to retrieve the baseball, they had raided his discarded backpack and relieved it of the pair of manga volumes that it carried.

Eijiro was holding one in his hand and mimicking Katsuki's earlier posture in school: one hand had a few pages held in its grasp, while the other was tugging lightly at the book's spine. The other one, the latest volume to be released, was being read by Hitoshi, who was smirking with amusement.

"You get the drill, Midoriya," Bakugo growled, his eyes gleaming sadistically. "Now throw it over!"

Izuku let out a girlish squeak and tried to throw it with as much force as he could muster. Unfortunately, the ball bounced a couple of times before rolling over to Katsuki's feet.

"WEAK!" he roared.

Eijiro tore out the pages in his hand and tossed them all over the street, causing Izuku to freeze up in horror.

"STUPID!"

Eijiro tore out more pages and repeated his actions, drawing amused snickers from many of the other boys. Izuku could feel as if a part of his soul was being ripped out as well.

"USELESS!"

The redhead tore out the last of the pages and tossed them as well. Then, he tore the front and back covers in half and then casually tossed them aside. Izuku could only watch helplessly as the pages fluttered to the ground in all directions, covering it like a makeshift snow. Some of the pages drifted onto the pool of milk and egg whites that was still billowing next to his backpack; the paper darkened and became stained.

Through the fog of horror and uselessness, he heard something bouncing, followed by a soft tap to his foot. Izuku looked down and saw that familiar grenade-like baseball.

"Throw it again, Midoriya," Bakugo ordered, his voice soft but alarmingly venomous. "And _this time_, I wanna see that ball flyin' at me. And as some extra motivation..."

Hitoshi closed the manga and held it up for Izuku to see. Then, Katsuki reached into his pocket and partially pulled it out. As soon as he did, Izuku saw a bright glimmer of silver metal, and he realized what Katsuki was trying to show him. His eyes widened and a strangled, rattling gasp emerged from his dry throat.

"Looks like the wimp gets the picture," Denki said, his light-hazel eyes gleaming tauntingly.

Izuku quickly bent down and picked up the baseball. Once he straightened his back again, he prepared to throw the ball when he saw the smirks on all of the boys' faces. At that moment, he imagined them being enveloped in a shadowy aura and growing in size, all the while developing unnatural bodily features and becoming clad in terrifyingly flashy clothes...

They looked _just_ like supervillains...

Izuku narrowed his green eyes seriously, eliciting a laugh from many of the other boys.

"Wow, what the fuck kinda look is _that_?!" Eijiro shouted between cackles.

"He looks like he's trying to take a dump or somethin'!" exclaimed Neito as he clutched his sides.

But Tetsutetsu did not look impressed. "HURRY UP, MAN!" he roared. "WE'VE GOT A GAME TO FINISH HERE!"

The only one who didn't speak or react was Katsuki. Instead, the blond stared deeply into his target's green eyes with his own hazel ones, both pairs refusing to yield to the other's attempts at intimidation.

Eventually, Izuku let out a mighty yell and threw the ball with as much force as he could muster. In the briefest second, he thought about his manga volume and prayed that the throw would be more successful, so he could save what was left of his livelihood...

Unfortunately, his ears quickly registered the single bounce the ball made before reaching its owner. He froze in his half-bent position, his outstretched right hand comically aimed at the ground, his hair drooping down and covering his eyes in shadow.

"Awwwww, too bad," Yuga remarked mockingly as he rested his head against his palms.

"How lame," Katsuki snarled triumphantly. He bent down, picked up the baseball, and started letting it bounce lightly on his palm. "You can't even throw a ball from the other side of the street. It's something anybody can do, you dumbass."

"His precious lil' storybook was on the line too," Neito replied, "and yet, he couldn't do his very best."

"That _is_ his very best, Monoma."

Upon hearing Katsuki's latest insult, Izuku finally looked back up with an empty, defeated look in his eyes. The blond saw this, stopped bouncing the ball on his palm, and widened his malevolent grin.

"Look at you, Midoriya," he continued. "You're just standing there with nothing to do or say about it. Four-Eyes was right. You'll never accomplish anything. Your head's up in the clouds, getting high on your little gay books. And once it's pulled back down, you're just gonna crash and burn gloriously, because you can't handle the real world, no matter how much it tries to accommodate for you. That's all that you are, Midoriya. A defenseless otaku."

"A defenseless otaku," Denki replied. "I like it!"

"A perfect name for a miserable little peddler like him," added Yuga.

"Oh, man!" cried Eijiro, his eyes suddenly lighting up with inspiration. "That reminds me of another name that suits this loser perfectly!"

"And that is?" asked Hanta.

"Deku!"

"Deku, huh...?" Katsuki replied. Then, he grinned with approval. "That is _perfect_. I'm glad I thought of it!"

Eijiro twitched his head at him and uttered, "I'm glad too! You always have the best ideas, Bakugo! And it suits this loser perfectly too!"

"Well, of course." Katsuki proudly raised his baseball bat and rested it on his shoulder. "He's always been that way. Guess all of our destinies are cast in stone the moment we're born. It's gotta be the reason why I am so strong and successful, while he is weak and aimless."

Izuku flinched at that, but he tried his best not to give in. There was no way he was going to feed this spreading fire. So, he clenched his fists and stared at Katsuki with a calm and unwavering look on his face.

"I'm not weak and aimless, Bakugo," he said determinedly. "I'm not a defenseless otaku either. You just give me the ball again, and I can throw it over to you like you want. I can-"

"Expecting you to do something as simple as that is like ordering a baby to walk on its first day of life," Katsuki brutally interrupted. "And you're just saying that because you wanna save your little fairy-tale book."

He tossed the baseball in the air, letting Denki catch it. Then, he gave his baseball bat to Neito. Next, he took the manga volume from Hitoshi's hand with his right hand, while his left hand reached into his pocket and pulled out what Izuku had been fearing all along: a cigarette lighter, its newly polished metal gleaming brightly with the evening sunlight.

"What makes you think I'm gonna give you another chance?" the blond boy asked. "We both know what's gonna happen, Midoriya. You're like a walking script that anyone can memorize. You try to do something, but you just can't do it right. A weakness like that...it's in your blood. It's a law of nature."

Katsuki activated the lighter, prompting Izuku's resolve to break. Before he could stop himself, the scrawny green-haired boy cried out, "PLEASE, KACCHAN! DON'T DO IT!"

An awkward silence fell upon Katsuki's group. Then, Eijiro asked, "Who the hell is Kacchan?"

Katsuki didn't respond, instead staring at Izuku with a horrifying silence that could only indicate something boiling within him. Then, he calmly replied, "I dunno. Probably some fucking gay pet name he gave to this lil' storybook."

Before Izuku could say anything else, Katsuki brought the volume directly over the orange flame, his eyes widening with so much triumph that it almost bordered giddiness. Izuku hitched his breath at the sight of the flames eating away at the pages, blackening and destroying everything within, everything he'd grown highly invested in. It was almost like he was witnessing the destruction of his own life's work.

Then, as the flames spread even further and continued to devour the manga, Katsuki dropped it into the pool of milk and egg whites. Some of the flames were extinguished by the white, viscous liquid, but the small, flickering fire continued to eat away at the volume cover, turning it as black as a dusk sky.

With that, Izuku collapsed on his knees; his kneecaps hit the pavement really hard, but the boy didn't register the pain. He wanted to cry, but he did enough crying in his lifetime to fill up a lake. And at this point, his body had totally given up on expressing his true emotions. This whole scenario was following the same script everyone used day to day. There was no point in crying over something that kept happening over and over again.

"Look at you, Midoriya," Katsuki growled jeeringly. "You're on your knees like the hopeless little reject that you are. Just a few seconds ago, you looked all high and mighty, but now, it seems like you've _finally_ learned your rightful place in this world."

"Someone like you isn't gonna do anything right for society," Neito added, his voice particularly haughty. "You're just an extra, a background character. The kind of person who sits in the sidelines and just roots for no one while waiting for the game to end, all while caught up in his own stupid little thoughts and concerns."

"Even worse," said Tetsutetsu, his voice a low, steely snarl, "you're going to be the type of person everyone has to carry around on their shoulders! The pain in the ass that people have to turn around and come back for!"

"You're gonna die alone and unfulfilled, Midoriya," said Hanta. "Just look at you! The future is as clear as day with you."

Izuku lowered his head in shame and regret. He had made his move thinking it would signal a turn for the better, but it ended in utter failure. Now he was left to reap what he sowed, and that was the truth.

_"They're right,"_ he thought. _"There's nothing I can do that will turn my life around. I can't do anything right. I'm going to be nothing more than a burden to society. I wish I could do something about it, but I can't. I...I just can't..."_

Izuku glanced at the discarded manga volume as the last of the flames coiled in one last, desperate flicker of life before being snuffed out by the wind. He could still imagine the bold, bright, beautiful colors on its cover, showing him the ideal world where he could've been of use.

A world full of superheroes, ripped straight out of an American comic book. Oh, how he wished to be a part of that world. But instead, he was stuck with what he got.

The bleak, boring, unfulfilling real world.

"Awwwww, look at Midoriya!" Yuga exclaimed, his body swooning irritatingly. "The poor boy is crying! _Pathétique_!"

Indeed, tears were flowing down the green-haired boy's cheeks as his mind reluctantly accepted reality. He did not think he would cry this time; he had been denying the possibility just mere seconds ago. But perhaps it was because he finally realized the hopeless condition he was in. For many times, Izuku had been inconvenienced by roadblock after roadblock, but he would usually ignore it and look towards tomorrow, thinking there would be a better day ahead of him. But now, it seemed Aizawa and Tenya's words hit harder than he expected. And now, the dam was officially broken.

Or perhaps this was one denial too many. Or perhaps it was both. Either way, Izuku could now feel the weight of reality bearing down on him like a press.

Upon seeing this sudden development, Katsuki's sadistic grin became even more pronounced.

"What's the matter, Midoriya?!" he called tauntingly. "You see the dead end ahead of the road now, you loser?!"

Izuku didn't respond. Instead, he continued to cry, his tears quickly dripping from his cheeks and onto his pants, staining the fabric.

Just then, he felt a shadow envelop him, followed by a familiar voice shouting, "Hey! Get lost, you damn kids!"

"Why does it matter to you, skin-and-bones?!" snapped Katsuki.

Izuku stopped crying and looked up. Standing beside him was a man so skinny that he lacked muscle, and his skin clung to his protruding bones like a carcass that had just begun to rot. His long arms dangled precariously from his shoulders, and with the full shopping bags he was carrying, they looked like they might pop off at any second now. Even his skinny legs, hidden behind baggy green cargo pants, looked like they could barely support the rest of his wiry body. His blonde, unkempt hair flowed wildly with the breeze, and in spite of his weak, thin form, his bright-blue eyes, usually sunken and lethargic, shone with a deadly energy as he trained them on Katsuki and his cronies.

_"Can it be...?"_ he thought.

"Have you punks ever heard of the phrase 'picking on someone your own size'?" the man asked, his voice low and shaky, but still bursting with pure determination. "Maybe the person who originally said that had a reason for saying that. So I suggest you kids follow that advice and find a target of your caliber before I report you to the authorities for creating a disturbance! After all, I live nearby and I'd rather spend my beauty sleep in peace."

Katsuki's cronies suddenly looked concerned at this, but the blond boy himself wouldn't budge.

"You've got a lotta nerve threatening to go to the police like a damn tattletale!" Katsuki growled. He started walking over to the skeletal man, his teeth gritted. "And I fucking _hate_ tattletales!" All of a sudden, he cracked his knuckles loudly and threateningly, causing the man's skin to pale. "Let's see how much punches your stupid lil' face can take before it breaks like a twig-!"

"BAKUGO, DON'T!" Eijiro cried. He dashed forward and grabbed Katsuki's arm. "Look at this guy! The cops are definitely not gonna give us a pass for beating up Jack Skellington! Don't get booked for assault, man!"

"And _especially_ before the game!" warned Denki.

Katsuki looked irritated beyond belief, but his posture seemed to calm down at the cautionary advice of his friends. With that, Eijiro tugged at his arm.

"Come on, man," the redhead said, his voice lowered to a whisper as he eyed the skeletal man warily. "Let's continue our game somewhere else. We've wasted enough time on the baby as it is."

Katsuki bared his teeth even more at the prospect of defeat, and he glared at Izuku, who was now cowering behind the man's skinny legs. His cheeks were still glistening with tears, but there was an expression of immense relief on his face. Eventually, the blond boy huffed aggressively and turned away, all while lightly striking the asphalt with his baseball bat.

"Fine," he spat. "Let's forget the retarded otaku, guys. We've wasted too much precious oxygen on him." His lips curled into a triumphant smirk as he started bouncing the grenade baseball on his palm again. "I think we have more important stuff to do now."

The other boys parted to let the snickering Katsuki pass through them and walk towards the sunset. Then, they followed right behind him, laughing and talking jovially amongst themselves. Izuku and the man watched them go for a moment, before the former scrambled towards the remnants of his manga volumes and picked up as much of the wreckage as he possibly could. As for the latter, he let out a sigh of relief, put down on his shopping bags, and wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Man," the skeletal man said. "For a moment, I thought that one kid with the temper really _was_ gonna pummel me. It's a good thing his friends are apparently brighter than he is. Otherwise it would've been bad for me-"

"AGH!" Izuku screamed in a high-pitched, girlish voice. The wind had just picked up and blew several torn pages further down the street, causing them to mingle with the pieces of dirty, discarded trash. "NO! OH, NO, NO, NO!"

He was about to run after the pages, but the man's voice stopped him.

"Forget it, kid. Even if you get all those pages, it's not gonna fix that manga overnight."

Izuku wanted to disregard the man, but he knew how right he was. Even if he did restore the two manga volumes to the fullest extent, reading them would no longer be the same...

Watching as the green-haired boy sunk further and further into despair, the skeletal man walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder consolingly.

"Come on, Midoriya-kun," he continued. "I've got more copies over at the manga café. I can open it up for a bit and get you some new volumes, free of charge."

Izuku gasped and looked up at the man. "Re-_Really_?" he replied.

The man smiled down at him. "Hey, anything for my favorite customer- AGH!"

Without warning, the boy hugged his body tightly, tears spouting out from his eyes like fountains.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH, SHIMURA-SAN!" he cried loudly.

"Okay, okay!" The man tried to gently tear Izuku away. "Jeez, let go before you break something!"

* * *

**A/N:** And that should be a wrap for now! Hope you guys catch the references I make. ;)

Anyway, not much is happening right now, but I promise, things will get pretty interesting soon. Now, onto why I decided to write this kind of fic.

I've seen AU fics where everyone lives normal lives in a Quirkless world, such as "Writing and Drawing, Books and Love" by Arawn-Tolbert and the one-shot "Keeping Score with your Fiancé" by FlaminkoMage. Good fics, which I recommend by the way. Anyway, one day, I thought, "What if things got really meta, where MHA is a manga in their Quirkless world, but it inspired the kids to become superheroes?" Basically, like the movie "Kick-Ass". Being the boundary-pushing madman I am, I fell in love with the idea right away and decided to settle with that as the basic plot for my first MHA fic.

Then, as I toyed around with that idea, I saw the movie "Unbreakable", a really, REALLY great movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan during the height of his career. So, I removed the black-comedic and hyper-violent aspects of "Kick-Ass" from that idea and replaced it with the more dramatic soul-searching themes of "Unbreakable". A little bit of "Fight Club" was thrown in for good measure, as you can tell from the title. And thus, this fic was born!

In regards to the characters, especially the ones with unique appearances like Fumikage Tokoyami and Mezo Shoji, well, I'll put out the disclaimer that EVERYONE is appearing in this fic. There will be no exceptions. I've taken creative liberties on how they'll be portrayed in an entirely Quirkless setting, stuff that I'm sure is pretty clever, or perhaps not. You'll see as the fic goes along.

Also, I apologize for the OOCness of some of the major characters. Trust me, things will get better as we move forward.

Well, hope you enjoyed this first chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	2. We All Have Dreams

**A/N:** Thank you so much, everyone! I'm pleased by the responses I got so far! They were very insightful and have given me the courage to proceed with the chapters. Your support and excitement for this AU is just amazing to me, it really is.

Once again, I acknowledge the OOCness of some of the characters in the first chapter. I understand that it seems pretty radical, but do keep in mind that things will get better when the Hero Club is formed. Just bear with it for now. Also note that this is my first time writing for "My Hero Academia". Have a little patience and give me time to grow. For this fanfic, I'm actually using a writing system that I have never used before, where I've already finished a few chapters in advance and I'm constantly proofreading and revising them in my spare time.

So do know that I am trying hard for this one. Rest assured, my intent isn't to disappoint. I've heard some horror stories about the MHA fanbase in general and I want to make sure we all get through this story relatively unscathed.

Anyway, I'm done rambling. Let's get on with the chapter! ENJOY!

* * *

"I can't thank you enough for this, Shimura-san."

"Ah, don't sweat it. It's my pleasure, Midoriya-kun."

With relieved eyes, Izuku followed Shimura out of the convenience store, his hands holding onto new shopping bags with replacement milk and eggs inside. The blond man put his wallet back into his pocket, grabbed one of the bags in his right hand, and started ambling down the sidewalk. Izuku followed right behind his heels like a stray puppy.

"You told me you were being picked on at school," Shimura said, his lips bending into a frown. "But you didn't say it was _that_ bad. To be frank, I thought the worst those punks were doing to you was take your lunch money or somethin'."

"Well, I'm just used to it..." Izuku replied glumly.

"That's unacceptable, Midoriya-kun. You need to stand up for yourself. Like Yamikumo."

"I try to, but..." Izuku swallowed a little in his hesitation. "It's just..._different_. And no one stands up to Kacchan. No one. Not unless they were asking for a beating."

"Kacchan?"

"The guy with the spiky blond hair."

Shimura looked over his bony shoulder with surprise. "That walking time-bomb?!" When Izuku nodded, he refocused on the path ahead of him. "Huh. With a temper like that, I guess it's understandable... What are the adults doing about it?"

"Not much. Half of the school is in the palm of his hand, and the other half are mostly afraid to tell on him so they could avoid landing a spot on his hit-list." Izuku took a deep breath of defeat. "He _does_ get sent to detention, but it's not much of a deterrent for anyone. ...And Kacchan's the best baseball player the school has ever seen."

"So the teachers go soft on him as much as possible, so their star athlete doesn't miss out on any games. Can't say I'm surprised."

Shimura gazed towards the lonely street. The breeze picked up again, scattering even more articles of litter all over the cracked asphalt. In an alleyway on the other side of the street, a trio of shady characters were taking shelter, eyeing the duo with a sinister interest. Regardless, they refused to budge an inch, lest they compromise their hiding spot.

"This town's been going further and further down the drain since the Shie Hassaikai took over..."

Shimura kept his voice low so Izuku could hear him, but unbeknownst to him, he was unsuccessful in that attempt. The green-haired boy solemnly lowered his head, his mind momentarily flashing back to better times...

Suddenly, his friend's voice brought him back to reality.

"Setting that aside, how're things going at school? Are you keeping up those grades?"

Izuku sighed, downcast. "Barely..."

"Well, that's because you've got your nose stuck in manga all the time. It's gotten to the point where you're treating the books like living people. Reading's good, but you need to divide your time more evenly. You're not gonna graduate at this pace." When Izuku didn't respond, Shimura turned his head slightly and asked, "What about friends? Have you made any yet?"

Izuku prepared to respond, but Shimura quickly added, "And they'd better not just be online friends!"

The boy frowned miserably and put his hands in his pockets. "...No, not really..."

Shimura shook his head. "You need to find someone who'll be willing to stay by your side, and quick, kiddo. If this is the kind of bullying you face in school every day, you're not gonna be able to rely on me to stand up for you all the time. And to be perfectly frank, you were lucky I happened to be out shopping for groceries!"

"I'm used to being alone..."

"You're also used to talking to me. If so, then you must be perfectly able to talk to other people."

Izuku stopped walking. Shimura heard the footsteps behind him cease, and he looked back.

"Other people take things too seriously, though..." Izuku replied softly. "And these things are always things I can't really take seriously in turn. Academics, future jobs, girls, so on and so forth..."

"Hey, didn't you mention there was a club for manga and anime lovers over there?"

Izuku nodded once. "Yeah."

"Then why don't you join it? You'll definitely find lots of like-minded people there, and you'll make a lot of friends then!"

"They're..." Izuku looked away sheepishly. "They're...too weird, though. I can't talk to them. Especially the founder." The green-haired boy smirked hollowly. "Yeah, she's a real piece of work..."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you, Midoriya-kun. Your mother and I won't be around forever. You've gotta find someone else who will listen to you and care about what you have to say. Otherwise, you're just gonna be alone in the world, and that'll be a whole lot scarier than facing off against a group of bullies."

"I understand, Shimura-san..."

At that point, Shimura reached a small three-way intersection. After looking both ways, the thin man crossed the street, closely followed by Izuku.

"Ummmm...so," he said awkwardly, "since you haven't made a single friend yet, I assume things are still the same with that Uraraka girl you've been gushing on about?"

The boy exhaled sadly. "Yeah..."

"I guess that one's more understandable. She's your crush and she doesn't even know you exist."

Izuku merely exhaled again. Then, after walking a couple more blocks in complete silence, he heard Shimura announce, "Well, here we are, kiddo."

Izuku promptly looked up at the bold, comforting neon sign that read 'PLUS ULTRA MANGA CAFE'. Its normally luminous lights were no longer active, giving it a strikingly lifeless look. Even more depressingly, Izuku could see Shimura's lonely upper-story home just above the sign, empty and overlooking the street that cut through downtown.

Even so, when Shimura unlocked the front door with a set of keys and opened it, Izuku could feel a soft but exhilarating blast of air coming from within the manga café like the breath of a beast, welcoming him back with its subtle power and grandeur. He held on to the straps of his backpack, feeling extremely honored to be back in the café, even though it was already past closing time.

Shimura walked inside and set his shopping bags on the nearby wooden table boasting brochures of manga- and anime-related merchandise. The soft impact of the bags drew Izuku's attention, and he followed the blond man inside. The two walked over to the simple, almost humble front desk, which bore a few colorful posters of different manga properties, as well as a sticker-covered cash register.

"Holy whoa," Izuku said, his green pupils scanning the empty, soundless scenery. "This place sure is a whole lot different after closing time." He then looked at Shimura, who, to his surprise, was approaching a backdoor in the far corner of the café. "Wh-Where are you going, Shimura-san?"

Shimura turned his head towards him and replied, "Well, the newest volume of _Our Hero Academia_ was sold out, kid. But the newest shipment arrived earlier today, so I'm just gonna look for that box and give one to you." He smiled a friendly smile. "Then I'll look for a copy of that other volume those boys wrecked. Just wait there, alright Midoriya-kun?"

"A-Alright!" Izuku stood rigid, like a soldier at attention. "I-I'll be waiting patiently!"

Shimura blinked slowly. "Heh. Even if you cannot stand up for yourself and socialize properly, you do take after Mikumo Akatani in a lot of other places, don't ya, kid?"

"W-Well, o-of course!" The boy gazed at the floor, his expression now dreamy. "He's...He's an inspiration to me..."

Shimura stared at him for a moment, then he smiled strangely.

"I'm really happy to hear that."

Izuku's lips loosened a little as he watched Shimura go into the backroom, the door slowly closing behind him with a low creak. Then, once silence took over the atmosphere, he surveyed his surroundings. Once bursting with as much colors as the covers for _Our Hero Academia_, it was now painted with the brilliant, pinkish-orange light of the setting sun. He could clearly see dust accumulating on the bookshelves, tables, and reading booths. Shadows reigned where the sunlight could not reach, giving the entire café the overall resemblance of a powerful, dramatic scene in an anime.

Izuku took a deep breath and approached one of the bookshelves. Lining every nook and cranny were rows after rows of manga series, many of which he had read and finished. All of them contained their own little worlds, ready to pop out, as if coming to life, for the reader's viewing pleasure. He had the narratives of so many manga series memorized...

He began walking further down the aisle, scrolling through the contents of the bookshelf to see if there were any manga series that he hadn't read yet and that merited his interest. He did see a few unfamiliar titles, but none of them peaked his interest. By the time he reached the other end of the shelf, he realized he already read everything that needed to be read on that shelf.

"Hmmm..." Izuku gazed towards the next bookshelf. "Maybe there's something there that I can read..."

Something told him that would most likely not be the case at all. Even so, he prepared to stroll over to that shelf when something else caught his attention. In Izuku's peripheral vision, he could see a sliver of darkness beckoning to him. He slowly inched his head towards that tempting sliver of darkness, and he realized that it was coming from within a door that was left ajar. Its wooden surface was slightly jutting out from the wall it was hinged on, provoking a slight sense of discomfort inside Izuku. The boy wanted to alert Shimura to the open door.

However, that discomfort was quickly drowned out by a stronger sense of curiosity, one that was still building.

Izuku looked over his shoulder, towards the door that Shimura took to the backroom. His instinct to alert the café owner was pushed to the back of his brain, and he quickly, impulsively walked towards the ajar door. Once he reached the door, he grabbed the metal handle but then paused. One half of his brain was telling him to close the door, but the other half was telling him to fully open it and gain access to the room inside. Izuku lightly bit his lower lip as he mentally debated with himself on how to proceed.

Then...

_"Who knows?"_ said the devil on his shoulder. _"Perhaps there'll be some brand-new manga volumes in there. Ones you've never read before."_

Izuku swung the door open without a second thought and was greeted with darkness. Then, without wasting more time to debate with himself, he groped around the edges of the doorway in search of a light switch. He immediately found one and flipped it, flooding the mysterious room with bright, pale-yellow light.

"H-Huh?"

It seemed to be a private office, secluded away from the rest of the manga café. There was a small bed and an equally small desk with a simple folding chair behind it. The desk and chair were facing a wall that bore a life-sized poster of All Might, a supporting character of _Our Hero Academia_, his wide, toothy smile as infectious as ever. Surrounding that poster was a myriad of awards, all related to accomplishments in manga creation, all proudly displayed in glass cases. Scattered all over the desk were white sheets of paper with sketches, each of them in a different stage of completion. Some were half-done, a vast majority were still in the beginning stages, and only a couple seemed to be complete.

Now fully enveloped by curiosity, Izuku approached the table and took a closer look at the sketches...only to realize...

_"HOLY WHOA!"_ he thought, his eyes widening, his mind racing. "_These are sketches for the upcoming _Our Hero Academia _volume! I remember seeing some of these at the Yokohama manga convention! But they've got a whole lot more details, and I see a lot of other scenes!"_

Before he could restrain himself, Izuku dug his hands into the sketches and scoured through them one by one, examining each individual sheet of paper. As he dug further and further into this unprecedented trove of material, his giddiness and excitement rose rapidly.

_"Sketches of characters I've never seen before! Personal notes on world-building and character development! Sheets for test dialogue!" _Izuku scanned every last word, paying very close attention to even the way the Japanese characters were curved._ "And...And all of it is in Toshinori Yagi's handwriting! _The _Toshinori Yagi! No way! I...I think...I think I'm holding his_ _notes! His_ notes_! All of this has gotta be super-valuable!"_

Izuku stared out of the doorway, then back at the detailed notes and sketches.

_"All of this... All of this was in Plus Ultra Manga Café and I didn't even know about it! But...But _how_...?"_

"Hey, Midoriya-kun!" Shimura suddenly called. "Sorry it took me a little while, but I... Hey, kid? Where'd you go?!"

Izuku instantly let go of the paper he was holding, and covered his mouth to restrain the scream that was boiling within his vocal cords. Once he calmed down, he lowered his hands and called out, "I'm-I'm coming, Shimura-san!"

He stepped out of the room and returned to the front desk, where he found the skeletal blond man waiting with a brand-new copy of the newest _Our Hero Academia_ volume. Shimura set the book down and crossed his bony arms.

"Didn't I tell you to wait over here, Midoriya-kun?" he asked, his tired voice a little stern. "Man, you could never sit still, not when it comes to manga, at the very least."

"S-S-Sorry, Shimura-san..." replied Izuku, his mind still reeling from his discovery. "Um...Shimura-san...?"

"Yes?"

"Ummm...why do you have a whole bunch of Toshinori Yagi's notes and sketches...?"

Shimura's eyes suddenly widened. "_What_?"

He flicked his stare towards the door, which was now left fully open, proudly exposing the room within. Then, he looked back at Izuku, who was staring back at him with curiosity. Putting two and two together, the frail man immediately broke out into a sweat...and blood started spouting graphically out of his mouth, creating a horrific sight.

"OH, CRAP!" he gurgled loudly.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" Izuku shrieked, bewildered by this sudden, random turn of events. "I'M-I'M SORRY! I-I DIDN'T MEAN TO PROVOKE YOUR CONDITION LIKE THAT! I-"

Once the spouting ceased, Shimura coughed a couple of times and procured a handkerchief to wipe the copious amounts of blood from his lips and chin. Then, he quickly moved over to the front desk so he could wipe it clean of the blood that managed to jettison out onto its surface.

As soon as he was done, he stared at the boy with an irritated frown and said in a low voice, "You know, kid, you should _never_ poke around in places where it's clear you're not welcome..."

"I-I'm sorry!" stuttered Izuku. "I-I just..." He stared at the floor guiltily. "I just wanted to see if there was anything new for me to read..."

"All you had to do was ask. I have a record of all your purchases in this joint. It may be long, but I would've been willing to pore through it..." Then, Shimura's face slackened back to its original sunken, perpetually exhausted look. "You won't tell anyone, will you, kid...?"

Izuku was taken aback. "Tell anyone what?"

Shimura misinterpreted his reaction and gave him a soft but kind smile. "That's the spirit." He turned and casually threw the handkerchief into the nearby trashcan. "Now, let's look for that other volume-"

"W-Wait, tell anyone _what_, Shimura-san?" Izuku interrupted, his curiosity getting the better of him again.

"That I'm Toshinori Yagi, what else?!"

...

...

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...

...

...

...

...

...

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**"_WWWWW_****_WWWWW_****_HHHHH_****_HHHHH_****_AAAAA_****_AAAAATTTTT_****_TTTTT_?!"**

"What, you didn't-?" Then, Shimura realized his mistake and started spouting blood again. **"OH, _CRAP_!"**

**"_AAAAA_****_AAAAA_****_GGGGG_****_GGGGG_****_HHHHHHHHHH_!"**

Fortunately, it didn't take long for the blood to stop spouting again. Unfortunately, though, it left Shimura exhausted, and he had to clean his lower face and the desk with less energy than ever before. Plus, Izuku simply wouldn't stop firing off word after word after word in his gushing overreaction.

"OHMYGODICANTBELIEVEYOURETOSHINORIYAGI!" he chattered loudly. "THEONEANDONLYTOSHINORIYAGI! BUTHOWISTHISPOSSIBLE! IMEANYOUREALLBUFFANDBIGINPUBLICANDYOURESOLOUDANDENERGETICTOOWHILEYOUREJUSTSKINANDBONESRIGHTNOW! IMEANISITPOSSIBLEFORYOUTOEMPTYALLTHATOUTINJUSTTHREEMONTHSIFSOTHENTHATSANACCOMPLISHMENTFORTHEAGESAND-"

"Jesus Christ, slow down, kid!" Toshinori exclaimed with concern. "You're gonna lose your breath and faint!"

Izuku took his word for it and stopped speaking. His shock and excitement and all of the other jumbled emotions left him completely overwhelmed and he was panting loudly and rapidly, as if he had just run a marathon. As soon as he regained his breath, he heaved out three words with all of the energy he could muster at the moment.

"This...is..._unbelievable_..."

Toshinori sighed. "Well, now that my secret's out in the open for you, I'm gonna have to ask you again to not tell _anyone_ about this conversation, Midoriya-kun."

Izuku looked up. "Not tell anyone?! But why?!"

"You should know why, kid."

At first, the green-haired boy was about to protest, but then, he realized something.

"The person who appears at all those manga conventions," he said slowly, his mind thinking about the huge, ridiculously buff man who always cosplayed as All Might and wore the suspiciously obvious name-tag of Toshinori Yagi as he stood on the bright stages. "He's not you, is he?"

"Nope. He's just a part-time actor who needs some money for medical school tuition. I supply him with all the scripts and flashcards he needs so he can say the right stuff when he gets interviewed by the fans and reporters... He has nothing to do with the creation of the manga itself. That's all me."

"Whoa..." The boy looked at the floor again, this time with disbelief. "That _does_ explain why he sometimes hesitates and stumbles during the interviews. Oh, and that interview two years ago!"

Toshinori laughed hollowly in reminiscence. "Yeah. The idiot forgot his lines and just resorted to telling bad jokes. ...I was at my wit's end praying that alone wouldn't blow my cover."

"Some fans did think that was a little fishy, but no one really wanted to dig deeper. But if word gets out that you've been using an actor as a mouthpiece, it'll be a big scandal throughout the manga community."

"Correct." Toshinori sighed again. "Look, kid, I'm not trying to be cold towards the fans or anything. It's just...well, look at me." He gestured at his horribly frail, wiry body. "For the first year of _Our Hero Academia_'s publication, everyone was clamoring to see the one and only Toshinori Yagi in the flesh. If they realize the author of the manga that inspired them so much was just a weak old man who couldn't hold his own in a fight with someone like that Kacchan fellow, then they'll lose hope in what they've come to believe in."

"That's not true!" Izuku protested. "You, Toshinori Yagi, are actually standing before me and I feel no less inspired than I was just a couple of minutes ago! Actually, I'm...I'm so, so _honored_ to know you're him!" He smiled happily and warmly. "I...I knew you way before _Our Hero Academia_ went into publication."

_**"Wow! Look at that, Mommy! Plus Ultra Manga!"**_

_**"Plus Ultra Manga, huh? That sounds interesting, Izuku! Hey, let's check it out!"**_

_**"Hi there, welcome to Plus Ultra Manga. Huh, I see we've got a first-timer here."**_

_**"Hi there! I'm Izuku! Izuku Midoriya!"**_

_**"Nice to meet you, Izuku. I'm Shimura."**_

_**"Wooooow... You look like a skeleton!"**_

_**"BLEEEEEAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"**_

_**"Izuku, look away, honey!"**_

"You were the one who introduced me to manga in the first place. My love of manga comes from you..."

_**"Welcome back, Midoriya-kun!"**_

_**"Hi, Shimura-san! Has the newest volume of **_**Lone Piece _come in yet?"_**

**_"Uh-huh. It's waiting over at that shelf. I have it marked just for you."_**

**_"Thank you so much, Shimura-san!"_**

"And to know that the author of my newest favorite manga of all time is actually you...it's something even I could never, ever dream of..."

_**"Welcome back, Midori- Hm? Midoriya-kun? Were you just crying?"**_

_**"N-N-No..."**_

_**"Are the bullies picking on you again?"**_

_**"No... Yes... I-I tried to stop them, but-"**_

_**"Hey, there's no buts about it. Even if there's no way out, that's no excuse to submit. You stand up to them, kiddo, and you do it with resolve. Bullies always avoid people who show their inner strength. One day, you'll have the strength to show them why they should never mess with the likes of you! Alright?"**_

_**"Alright!"**_

**_"That's the spirit, kiddo!"_**

"And that's why I would never lose my faith in you, even if I knew your secret!"

When Izuku looked up, he saw that Toshinori was smiling perhaps the widest smile he could muster.

"Thanks, kiddo..." he replied gently. Then, his frown returned. "But I'm afraid other fans won't think the same way. Plus, the recent direction I've been taking the manga has proven to be divisive for the fan community. Some are pretty much yelling for my head. With a fanbase like that, it'd take a miracle for everyone else to have the same mindset as you.

"And even if you set that aside, there's still the little problem of the paparazzi descending upon the town. As you already know, I've never been in the best shape my whole life. I don't think my health can take being harassed by rabid fans and reporters. It'll disrupt my work.

"That's why I think it'd be for best if you didn't tell anyone what happened today. Not a single soul in this town. Not even your mom. Got it?"

Izuku wanted to object, but he knew Toshinori had a point. After all, his freak-out made the sickly café owner spit blood twice today! He couldn't even imagine how much that condition would be aggravated in the presence of a whole crowd of die-hard fans. So, his shoulders slumped with defeat.

"...Got it..." the boy replied.

"Good."

Toshinori started walking towards one of the bookshelves. Izuku watched him go for a second, before grabbing the book he retrieved from the backroom and following right behind him.

"You know," the mangaka continued, "I'm glad I got to be honest with you, kid. I always knew you of all people would be understanding towards my dilemma. And I'm proud to have you as a fan."

"Thanks, Shimu-" Izuku suddenly started to sputter with confusion. "I-I mean, T-Toshin- I-I mean-"

"It's okay, kid. You can call me whatever you're most comfortable with."

"O-Okay...Shimura-san..."

At that moment, the two approached the bookshelf, which held a number of _Our Hero Academia_ volumes for sale. Izuku watched Toshinori, who was scanning through the section in search of the penultimate volume in publication. Just then, a thought popped into the boy's head, and he needed to express it as soon as possible.

"Hey, Shimura-san?"

"Yeah?"

"...Why'd you start writing _Our Hero Academia_?"

Toshinori continued searching, but his posture suddenly looked more rigid.

"Didn't you already learn that from the other guy?" he asked.

"Yeah, but that's the thing." Izuku gazed at the carpeted floor. "Now that I know the person who I thought was Toshinori Yagi is just an actor, my curiosity is back, and I gotta hear an answer from the _real_ Toshinori Yagi. So please, I just want to know if the story is actually true."

Toshinori paused for perhaps the longest moment. Then, he replied with a soft voice of reminiscence, "Well, a lot of that story is still true. I loved reading American comics as a kid, and I was inspired by the adventures of the superheroes that were featured in them. For the longest time, I wanted to repay those comics for entertaining me and inspiring me. That's why I decided to become a mangaka. And that's how _Our Hero Academia_ was born. It came out of my love for American superheroes."

"I see... So what part of the story is not true? The part where you studied in America?"

"No, that part's true as well. You heard me speak perfectly good English to that tourist last month."

"Okay... So you didn't work part-time with AT Comics?"

"No, I did. I learned a lot from my work experience there."

"Oh. Then how about your first manga about fantasy creatures running a modern hotel resort? Did it really get canceled because you didn't know where to take that idea?"

Toshinori crossed his arms. "I don't know. What do _you_ think, Midoriya-kun?"

"...I guess that's true too." Izuku's eyes brightened with intrigue. "So what part of your story _wasn't_ true, then?!"

Toshinori frowned ambiguously, and Izuku could've sworn he heard a sigh of longing emanate from the man's throat.

"It's...It's complicated, kid. I probably shouldn't have been that forthcoming with you-"

"But I wanna know!" interrupted Izuku.

"I told you it's complicated, kid!" Toshinori quickly resumed his search. "And...And _extremely_ personal. Just...Just lemme find that manga for you."

Izuku stared at his longtime friend, the person who turned out to be his favorite mangaka ever, as he continued scouring through the bookshelf. At first, he wondered why such a deep question about his personal life rattled Toshinori so much, but he soon decided to drop the matter out of respect for him.

Then, as Izuku mulled over the extremely unlikely conversation he just had, something else sparked alive in his mind.

_"I wonder how Shimura-san would feel if I told him about what I wanted to be..."_ he thought.

"Ah, here it is!" Toshinori announced. He clasped his fingers around the book and pulled it away from its brethren. "And in good condition too!" After looking at it for a second, he held it out towards Izuku. "Here, Midoriya-kun. You take good care of it. And don't let those punks trash it like the last book. The fans would be beside themselves if they knew I was supplying you with free copies of my own work."

"Thank you so much, Shimura-san!"

Izuku grabbed the book, but then paused mid-movement. Toshinori blinked with concern.

"Midoriya-kun? What's wrong?"

"Shimura-san," Izuku began emotionally, "your work...it's inspired me so much, just like how American comics inspired you. It has brought so much color to my gray world." He finally pulled the book away from Toshinori's grasp and held it tightly to his chest. "I...I've never been too good at anything else in life. I scrape by with my grades, I'm not popular at school, I'm not good at any sports, I can't join any clubs... I've never belonged anywhere. The only places I know in my life are home, school...and this place."

Izuku fondly, slowly scanned his surroundings. Eventually, his eyes settled on the life-sized cardboard cutout of the main characters of _Our Hero Academia_. His smile widened at the sight of it.

"This place brings me all the joy in life, not school," he continued. "This is a place where I can be free. Like a portal, it's where I can leave this world and enter the worlds of all the manga that I read. Those...Those are the places that I know I belong to." He laughed dryly. "I know. Pretty depressing, huh?"

"Well, I think I can relate..." Toshinori replied, but Izuku didn't seem to hear him.

"But manga gives me a purpose in life. Especially _Our Hero Academia_. When I follow Mikumo Akatani's adventures as he learns how to become a superhero, I project myself onto him. I see myself in his shoes."

Toshinori chuckled. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

Once again, Izuku didn't hear the blond café owner. "And then it hit me last year. I've always been beating myself up for not fitting in anywhere, when I should've been paying attention to what I always do and apply it in real life. And that was when I realized my purpose. What I want to do in life. I kept thinking it over, and I think this is what I really want to do."

The man's sunken eyes widened with a bright surprise. "You did?! Wow, great job, kiddo! I knew you had talent hidden in there somewhere. All it took was some soul-searching! And now you were able to find the goal that will define the rest of your life!" He crossed his arms proudly. "So, what do you wanna be?"

This time, Izuku heard him and answered his question with a smile.

"I want to be a superhero."

"Ah yes, a superhero! A great profession for an attentive and knowledgeable fanboy like- wait, what?"

"I want to be a superhero," Izuku repeated with more clarity. "Like Mikumo Akatani."

The dam was now broken. There was no turning back now. No more regrets.

An awkward silence fell upon the manga café. The only distinguishable sounds were the chirping of birds perched outside the building. But Izuku stood his ground, facing his idol while feeling as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest. Eventually, Toshinori fully processed Izuku's strange declaration and opened his mouth.

"Listen...Midoriya-kun... I...I don't wanna kill your dreams or anything, but...d'you have any idea how..." The café owner suddenly rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Oh, how should I say this...?"

"I know what you're thinking, Shimura-san," Izuku said, his voice hardened with resolve. "But I'm one-hundred percent serious. I want to become just like Mikumo Akatani and all the other heroes in _Our Hero Academia_." He stared out of the window longingly as the golden sunlight peered through it. "A person who helps others for the sake of good and nothing else..."

"Then why not become a police officer? It's a respectable job, and it suits your criteria perfectly!"

Izuku's eyes darkened slightly. "You know how it is here." He stared at Toshinori again. "I want to help people on my own terms. And I want to do it behind a mask. That way, people can be inspired by the sight of a nobody like me, stepping up to a seemingly insurmountable challenge. And once they see me doing the right thing and standing up against evil, then they'll realize if one of their own could do it, then so could they. I want to become that kind of symbol to people..."

Toshinori's eyes widened with awe. "That's...That's honestly admirable, kid..." Suddenly, he frowned disapprovingly. "But you're forgetting one thing."

"And that is?"

"YOU'RE GONNA GET YOUR ASS HANDED TO YOU!"

Izuku fell over in surprise and dropped his books in the process. As the teenage boy scrambled to pick them up, Toshinori ruffled his unkempt hair with slight distress.

"I'm sorry about that, Midoriya-kun," he said solemnly. "I...I understand you want to save this town and help others. And it's not wrong to think that, trust me. But the thing is, your approach is just so...so _ridiculous_!" His blue eyes brightened in remembrance. "Not to mention _reckless_! I just have to tell you that!"

"Mikumo's hero name means 'reckless'," Izuku replied defiantly as he stood up. "He gets himself into dangerous and life-threatening situations so he could help people in need. He may be afraid of what the consequences might be, but he still goes ahead because that's the right thing to do. He can't just ignore that." He stared into Toshinori's eyes determinedly. "Tell me, Shimura-san, why can't I think the same way?"

"I'll tell you why, Midoriya-kun." The café owner yanked one of the books out of Izuku's grasp, showed its cover to him, and tapped it with his index finger. "This is a _work of fiction_. This isn't something that can be applied to real life!"

"So you're telling me you didn't write that for the sake of inspiring readers?"

"W-W-Well, o-of _course_ I did! But..." Toshinori lowered the book. "I was hoping my readers wouldn't take the inspiration so _literally_, though."

Izuku clenched his fists. "Shimura-san, I know what I'm saying is ridiculous. I really do. Trust me, I laughed at myself a couple of times for thinking that."

"Then why not consider a more realistic alternative?"

"It's just like what I said. Reading manga, becoming invested in the world of fiction, is what gives me purpose. And their worlds and all their rules make more sense than this one. If I can think more like a manga protagonist like Mikumo, then this world can probably make more sense as well."

"That's not an excuse, Midoriya-kun." Toshinori crossed his arms again. "To be honest, it sounds like you've been reading too much manga in your spare time. An obsession like that, it's unhealthy for your mind."

"But don't you feel like this world would be a whole lot better if it were more like a manga, Shimura-san?!"

"Even if I did, there's nothing you or I could do to change it! Society doesn't have the time to mold itself in your image! Kid, you have to accept the world as it is!"

"But...But I _can't_!" Izuku looked at Toshinori's feet. "I just don't understand why the world is what it is. I can never bring myself to _care_ about anything except for manga. That's why I thought if I became someone like Mikumo Akatani, then I would finally find purpose in life..."

"If you care about manga so much, then why not become a mangaka like me? Like a superhero, you can inspire people anonymously with the messages you put into your work. And you can spend your free time delving into the worlds that you yourself have created! It should be the perfect job for you!"

"But I'm only inspiring people with sketches on paper. I want to do _more_ than that..." Izuku then looked up worriedly and started waving his hand rapidly. "N-N-Not that I think y-your job is b-b-boring to me or anything, Shimura-san! I wasn't trying to insult it or anything, honest!"

Toshinori's frown became more pronounced. "So you're being _serious_, Midoriya-kun. You want to become a superhero."

Izuku nodded vigorously. "Yeah! More than anything else, Shimura-san!"

"I see. Okay. Let's say I'm mugging a person on the street. I've got a knife and nothing left to lose. You see me and rush into action. Tell me, Midoriya-kun, what will you do to stop me?"

Izuku's eyes widened, and his mind raced to come up with a fighting strategy. "L-L-Let's see, I...I, uh... So, by nothing to lose, you mean you'd be willing to _stab_ me?"

"Yeah. I can also take the woman hostage and slit her throat if needs be, as long as it meant escaping. Tell me, what will you do?"

"I'll...I'll just disarm you!"

"And how will you do that?"

"I'll, uh...I'll..." Izuku rubbed his chin as he struggled to visualize such a fight. "I-I'll knock it out of your hand...w-with a karate chop!"

"A karate chop?" Toshinori asked, baffled. "So you know martial arts?"

"N-_No_...b-but I'll ask Kendo to train me!"

"Who's Kendo?"

"A student in the classroom next to mine. She's very good at martial arts."

"_She_?" Toshinori blinked with hesitation. "Uhhh...I thought you weren't good with talking to girls?"

_"Holy moly, he's right!"_ Izuku thought with terror. Then, he replied, "I'll-I'll just have to overcome that fear, l-li-like a-any h-hero would!"

"O-Okay..." Toshinori blinked, a little impressed by the boy's resolve. "But let's say you ask Kendo to train you. Will she do it?"

"Of course! She's a pretty cool person if you get to know her!" Then, he sighed sadly. "Which I don't..."

"And will she be in on your mission to save people as a superhero?"

"O-Of course not?!" Izuku exclaimed. "She wouldn't get herself involved in something like that!"

"So what if she was the person I was robbing? What if she was the one I'd take hostage? And what if she recognizes your fighting style as you try to protect her?"

"I-I'd..." Izuku paused for a moment, then frowned angrily. "Hey, you're trying to make this a no-win scenario, are you?! That's not fair, Shimura-san! You're not giving me any chances to-"

"Life's not fair, Midoriya-kun," Toshinori interrupted, his tone brutal. "It's unpredictable, a series of random occurrences. No matter how much mankind tries to control it, life somehow finds a way to make their efforts blow up in their faces. It has always been this way and it always will be. Sometimes things go your way, other times they don't. You never know.

"And that's the problem with your dream of being a superhero. Applying the tropes of _Our Hero Academia_ onto the real world is like trying to make something out of puzzle pieces from two different sets, because unlike the real world, those tropes are systematic and unchanging. Concrete."

"Not if you try!" protested Izuku.

"You'd waste your time if you tried, kid!"

"Mikumo tried, and he's now got a real shot at becoming a hero! Why can't I?!"

"Jesus Christ, I can't believe you're taking this so seriously! What if you really got _hurt_?! D'you have any idea how I'd...?" Toshinori paused, seemingly thinking about what he was going to do next. Then, he held out a hand. "I'm very sorry, kid, but I'm gonna need that other book back now. Bringing you here is proving to be a huge mistake."

"Wh-Wh-_What_?!" Realizing what Toshinori was going to do, Izuku held on to the manga tightly. "N-NO!"

"Trust me, this is for your own protection, and I don't wanna take it from you by force. Now hand it over."

"**NO**!" Izuku shouted so loudly that his voice cracked. He couldn't believe he was having this conversation with Shimura- no, _Toshinori Yagi_ of all people! "I...I didn't even get to finish reading it- AGH!"

With a reluctant sigh, Toshinori yanked the book out of Izuku's arms. The boy gasped with a horrified surprise, but didn't do anything to stop him. He could only watch as the blond man put the books into the shelf. And once he did, Toshinori's shoulders slumped, and he didn't look at Izuku as he spoke again.

"You're not allowed to come back here until you find something productive to do at school, Midoriya. I don't care what it is, as long as you make friends and enjoy life beyond the pleasures of manga. Once you're able to do that, you're free to come back in and read to your heart's content."

"B-But-" Izuku began, his voice becoming increasingly shaky.

"Don't make me kick you out, kid!" Toshinori glared at the silenced boy, his blue eyes glowing with anger and...something else. "I have nothing but utmost respect and compassion for you, kid! And that is why I gotta shove this in your lap! I can't have you run around town in some flashy costume, beating up criminals and endangering your life, all because you think manga is the only thing that'll make life better for you! Because it isn't!"

The two stared at each other for a long time, Izuku with invisible grief, Toshinori with evident ambivalence. At that point, the sun had gone below the horizon, and the golden sunlight bathing the café faded into a muted pink glow. Eventually, the café owner turned his face away from Izuku.

"You should be getting home now, kid..." he said softly. "Your mom's probably worried sick about you."

Realizing his idol, the one he had always known but had just realized, had spoken the final word about his dream, Izuku took a couple of steps backward, slowly shaking his head in disbelief. Then, blinded by his accumulating mix of emotions, he turned around and bolted towards the main doorway.

"Don't forget your groceries!" Toshinori called, the tone of his voice distant and noncommittal.

Izuku gritted his teeth angrily, but he instinctively grabbed the bags before bursting out of Plus Ultra Manga. Then, tears flowed from his eyes as he ran down the darkening, twilight-lit streets.

**_"Life's not fair, Midoriya-kun. It's unpredictable, a series of random occurrences. No matter how much mankind tries to control it, life somehow finds a way to make their efforts blow up in their faces. It has always been this way and it always will be. Sometimes things go your way, other times they don't. You never know."_**

_"I should've known he would say that,"_ he thought. _"I should've known my dream was stupid, even for him. I should've known that he'd respond that way! But I just _had_ to be a complete fanboy and tell him of my dreams! Now I just wound up embarrassing myself!"_

His teeth tightened even more against each other as he wiped his cheeks. Then, he stared into the horizon as the hue of gold and pink began to fade into a serene dark-blue. His vision started to blur again, forcing him to wipe his eyes.

_"And I'm still crying over it. Now isn't that pathetic or what...?"_

* * *

_**"Fear not, citizens! For **_**I _am here!"_**

"Fear not, citizens, for I am here..."

Izuku heaved out a long, glum sigh. He was almost fully enveloped in darkness, and the only source of light was coming from his nifty laptop, which illuminated his face like some sort of heavenly beam. His green eyes stared into the trending online video, which was replaying a now-famous scene from _Our Hero Academia_'s anime adaptation, specifically its first season. All Might had just arrived at the scene of an unexpected Villain attack on the grounds of U.A. High School, saving all of Class 1-A from the brink of certain death.

The scene then switched to the protagonist, Mikumo Akatani, who was wearing a smile of immense relief and admiration for his superpowered idol. Upon seeing that character's youthful, ordinary, lame-looking face, partially draped with long locks of purple hair, Izuku realized for the first time how much he actually resembled Mikumo.

_"I guess Shimura-san projected me onto him while designing him,"_ he thought. A smile subsequently crept onto his face. _"He thought I was the perfect model for protagonist material. ...I...I'm actually humbled by that. Perhaps I should thank him..."_

_**"You're not allowed to come back here until you find something productive to do at school, Midoriya. I don't care what it is, as long as you make friends and enjoy life beyond the pleasures of manga. Once you're able to do that, you're free to come back in and read to your heart's content."**_

_"Shimura-san's right. I care way too much about manga. I'm so wrapped up in it that I don't think about anything else. I mean, who wants to become a _superhero_ in this day and age, am I right?! It's so ridiculous! How could I have thought of something like _that_ in the first place?! HA HA HA!"_

Izuku glanced at the open door of his closet. Hanging on the door was a cosplay outfit he got from the Yokohama manga convention last year. It was an accurate replica of Mikumo Akatani's outfit, tailored to fit his body perfectly. It was perfect for a real-life superhero outfit. If he did modifications on it to make it look better, then...

The boy stood up from his chair, approached the door, and took the costume off the door hanger so he could look at it.

_"But even if being a superhero a ridiculous, unrealistic thing to dream about, it still feels natural to me... I want to save people, just like the characters in _Our Hero Academia_. Why? Why is it wrong to want to do something like _that_ in today's society? Why must people dismiss such things as childish daydreaming...?"_ Izuku's eyes narrowed bitterly. _"It just shows how content the town is with its current crime-riddled state, despite all the damage it's doing to the townspeople."_

Suddenly, Izuku heard a soft pinging sound coming from his laptop. He quickly rushed back to his chair and checked the private chat he was a part of. As expected, there was a new message from the other participant.

_**Hand of Shigaraki has joined the chat**_

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Hey, Smelly! Have you read the newest OHA volume yet?! Just got mine!

Izuku smiled and signed in.

_**Yamikumo-PU has joined the chat**_

Then, he quickly typed a response.

**Yamikumo-PU:** I didn't get to finish it. It got confiscated.

He leaned back and waited for a response. It didn't take long for him to hear another ping.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** CONFISCATED?!

Then, there was another message.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** I thought your mom was cool!

Izuku went back to typing. His fingers moved animatedly across his keyboard.

**Yamikumo-PU:** No, it was the owner of the manga café I go to.

**Yamikumo-PU:** He says I've been reading too much manga.

...

**Hand of Shigaraki:** What a KJ.

Izuku sighed. Then, after pondering his next words, he typed in his response.

**Yamikumo-PU:** He's a friend. Don't be rude.

**Yamikumo-PU:** And I think he's sort of right, to be honest.

...

**Hand of Shigaraki:** You thinking of becoming a fake?

**Yamikumo-PU:** Well, unlike you, I go to school.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** School's for losers.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Losers who eat up all the shit society has to offer.

Izuku blinked and pursed his lips. He never got to meet his online friend, who he liked to refer to as Shigaraki, in person before, but he suspected he was a NEET who hadn't seen the light of day for a while. But he was never one to judge, so he never tried to pry for any personal details.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** I know you're better than that, Smelly.

After reading the latest message, Izuku hesitated for a moment. Then, he resumed typing. As his fingertips punched in a new letter for his message, he could feel all motivation leaving his body. He didn't like what he had to say, but he knew it was still the truth.

**Yamikumo-PU:** I know I'm better than just sitting around all day.

...

**Hand of Shigaraki:** So you'd be willing to go out in the world?

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Even if you know the world is just a huge crap-fest?

**Hand of Shigaraki:** If society is so confusing in our eyes, why need it?

Izuku sighed glumly.

**Yamikumo-PU:** I don't wanna talk about this right now. Too depressing.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Whatever you say, Smelly.

Izuku scoffed softly.

**Yamikumo-PU:** When will you stop calling me that?

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Once you edit that silly username of yours.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Seriously, you can't expect to call yourself that and not be the butt of at least one joke!

**Yamikumo-PU:** PU stands for a phrase that means a lot to me! I can't just drop that, Shigaraki.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** PU, huh? By any chance, does it stand for "piss off"?

...

**Yamikumo-PU:** And you see, this is why you need to go to school.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Wow, rude much?

**Yamikumo-PU:** Sorry.

**Yamikumo-PU:** Come on, let's talk about something else.

...

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Sure thing, bud.

**Hand of Shigaraki: **Whatcha think about Yagi's arc for the League of Villains as of now?

Izuku smiled and started typing an intricately detailed response. Before he could complete his post, however, he heard a voice call out to him through the closed doorway.

"Izuku, dear! Dinner's ready!"

"I'll be there in a moment, Mom!" Izuku replied, looking over his shoulder at the sliver of light piercing through the sides of the doorway. "Just let me finish what I'm doing really quick!"

He could imagine the woman nodding. "Alright, but don't dawdle for too long! Your food will get cold in no time!"

Izuku heard his mother leaving, her footsteps fading into nothingness. Then, he copy-and-pasted his original response in a private file, saved it, and wrote at a quicker pace.

**Yamikumo-PU:** Sorry, Shigaraki. Mom just called. Gotta eat.

...

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Oh, okay.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Will be waiting for your return. Peace out.

_**Hand of Shigaraki has left the chat**_

_**Yamikumo-PU has left the chat**_

Izuku prepared to get up, but he found himself staring at Shigaraki's username for a while.

_**"You're not allowed to come back here until you find something productive to do at school, Midoriya. I don't care what it is, as long as you make friends and enjoy life beyond the pleasures of manga."**_

_"I do tend to talk to Shigaraki way too much..."_ he thought. _"And Shimura-san's never happy when he knows I just talk to people online. ...Maybe I should start off by distancing myself from Shigaraki bit by bit...?"_ He then shook his head in response. _"No, I can't do that! Of all the people I talk to online, Shigaraki understands me the most and I'm sure he also appreciates my willingness to talk to him as well! No, I shouldn't do that to him..."_

He looked at the computer for one last time. Then, he got up from his chair and left the room.

* * *

**A/N:** And thus marks the conclusion of this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

So, just for the record, Toshinori Yagi goes by Shimura in this AU. I will be referring to him by his real name from now on to avoid confusion, but Izuku will be referring to him by his alias. However, if this becomes confusing, I'll try to remedy it in some way.

And yes, Izuku has Shigaraki as an online friend. These are truly dark times.

Anyway, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:

**-Dark Dremora:**

**1)** I'm so glad you like the concept a lot! I think it'd be interesting to see what would happen if "My Hero Academia" was pretty much the same thing, except there were no such things as Quirks protecting them. The action would be different, I'll tell you that much.

**2)** I know, and I apologize for making those characters seem stunningly uncomfortable here. But I am a big fan of doing things differently and subverting tropes, and I guess this is an end result from me. Although I suppose I took Iida a little too far in that regard. Anyway, I promise, the next time you see him, he'll be more in-character (I hope). And I will give explanations as to why everyone acts so differently here. It actually ties into the theme I'm trying to set up for this fic.

**3)** My plan of developing IzuMina is going to be a bit slow and literally harrowing, actually. So keep an eye out for that.

**-Whitetiger789:** Like I told Dark Dremora before, I apologize for the off-putting OOCness and promise that things will improve from here, a bit slowly but definitely for sure.

**-Tohsaka143:** I'm so glad you're interested! Is there anything specific that reeled you in? Or anything you didn't like or found off-putting? Sorry, but I make it a habit to ask for specific details in my reviews, so I can easily figure out what my readers want and determine their current mindset.

**-2010si:** Would you mind being more specific in your review, please?

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	3. New Start Line

**A/N: WARNING!** This chapter contains a scene of sexual assault. The scene, located near the beginning of the chapter, is a little brief and censored for the most part (to maintain a T rating), but it is still a likely trigger for real sexual assault survivors. I have rewritten this chapter so many times to minimize the potential gut-wrenching quality of this one scene; you have no flipping idea. I don't wish to spoil too much, but this one scene will be absolutely vital for the development of certain characters down the road, so I can't just replace it with something else.

Consider yourselves warned, everybody. I don't want to upset or trigger anyone.

Oh, and I encourage those who are not informed to research the "bystander effect" for further context.

**P.S.:** Also, be prepared for some more OOC behavior from your favorite characters, everyone. I promise you, this won't last long. Just bear with it in the meantime. I appreciate everyone's patience.

* * *

"I'm off to school, Mom!"

Izuku stumbled towards the door while simultaneously putting on his other shoe. He was about to open the front door of the apartment when he heard his mother's voice address him, softly and timidly.

"Izuku, sweetie?"

He looked over his shoulder and saw her entering the hallway, fiddling with her flower-patterned apron.

When it came to Inko Midoriya, Izuku held nothing but utmost respect and compassion towards her. For his entire life, he never knew his father, including what happened to him. All he knew was that Inko was still moving Heaven and Earth to keep the both of them economically steady. In the day, she was a cook at an American fast-food restaurant in Yokohama, a grueling and demanding job that had no room for mistakes. In the night, she was a 1-1-0 operator, answering calls for people in danger and directing police to their location, also a grueling and demanding job that had no room for mistakes. In-between, she had to prepare her son's meals and check up on his well-being as much as possible.

To Izuku, she was the ideal real-life superhero. So, it pained his heart to see her worried and on the verge of tears.

"Y-Yes, Mom...?" he asked, his voice slightly shaky with worry.

"You came home late," she replied. "And the first thing you did was rush to your room. Now I know it could mean a lot of things. After all, you're always off doing something with that manga of yours. That's why I didn't say anything last night. But as your mother, I-I just can't shake off the feeling that something's off. So...I have to ask...is everything alright?"

Izuku smiled so forcefully that it hurt his muscles. "I'm-I'm fine, Mom."

But Inko was unconvinced. "Now I know you're lying, honey..." She approached her son, who was a head taller than her, and put her hands on his shoulders. "If you're having trouble with anything...please tell me. I'm your mother, Izuku. I'll stop at nothing to help you. But only if you're honest with me."

Izuku looked away sheepishly. "It's nothing, Mom! I swear!"

"Are you sure about that, sweetie...?"

"Y-Yes, Mom." Izuku looked back at her, his expression nervous and his lips pursed. "Can I please go now...?"

Inko still looked concerned, but she obviously couldn't keep her only child on a tight leash forever. So, she let go of his shoulders and stepped away.

"Alright." She anxiously lifted a hand over her heart. "You can go."

Izuku restrained a relieved sigh as he opened the door. However, once the light burst through the doorway and flooded the apartment, he heard Inko's voice again.

"But if you ever change your mind about talking, please call me."

Izuku's face was downcast, but he replied, "Sure, Mom. Thank you." He stepped through the doorway and slowly closed it behind him. "I'll see you later."

Once the door was shut, Izuku finally let out his sigh and started walking to the staircase. He took a deep breath, briefly inhaling the nice scent of pink flowers that were growing in a pot tucked in the neighbor's windowsill.

_"I can't tell you what the problem is, Mom. If Shimura-san thinks being a superhero is reckless, how would _you _react...?"_

* * *

A dot in a sea of dots. That was what Izuku felt like right now.

Right now, he was mingling in a large crowd of commuters, who were all scrambling from one place to another. Some of them were on their cellphones, talking mindlessly about numbers and deadlines and numbers and deadlines and a whole lot of other meaningless stuff. Others were checking their wristwatches; some broke out in sweats but couldn't do a thing to salvage their dilemmas because of some unspoken rule about the monster that is commuting. And even more others, young and some wearing school uniforms, were gossiping about the most unbelievably minor stuff imaginable.

_"This is like one of the herds I watch online..."_ he thought. Then, he shook his head._ "No. No, this crowd, it's no herd, it just isn't. It may be just a bunch of humans grouped together in a single place, bound to a common path, but it's still not a herd. It's still something entirely different, but I just can't describe it..." _He sighed glumly. _"How could the human race become something so out of place with the world? It's so confusing. And to think, I'm a member of that very race..."_

He was about to take out the _Our Hero Academia_ volume that he brought when he heard a faint voice abruptly shouting. Everyone ignored it except for Izuku. He didn't know why the voice caught his attention, only that it simply did. Anyone else would say it wasn't their business, but to Izuku, it was something that needed to be addressed.

So, he looked around frantically for the source. It didn't take long for him to hear the voice again, and this time, it was a little louder and clearer...as was its meaning.

"Help!"

His eyes now as wide as saucers, Izuku broke away from his original path and began pushing through the sea of people. Some cursed at him for shoving them aside, others gave him nasty glares. But he ignored them and continued pushing down the direction where the voice was coming from. All the while, he realized he was the only person who seemed to be making an active effort to find the person in need. And as he trudged closer and closer, it was clear the person calling out was in dire need of help.

"Help! Someone, please help!"

After about half of a minute, he still had a lot of people to go through, and he noticed some of them had stopped in their tracks, their faces aimed towards a common direction. Once he reached that still-building crowd, Izuku quickly saw what the problem was.

There was a teenage girl pinned to the wall by a large, muscular man sporting short, spiky ash-blond hair that reminded Izuku of Katsuki's. The hulking man was flanked by two others: a man with uncannily effeminate qualities and a pair of triangular sunglasses, and a shorter man with a lizard tattoo on his exposed shoulder. As for the girl, Izuku realized she was wearing the uniform of his school, but other than that, she was too far away for him to make out any other features, plus her form was partially shadowed by the alleyway.

"Give us your money, cutie," the muscular man snarled, a manic grin embracing his facial features. "Do it, and ya won't get hurt."

The girl whimpered something, but Izuku immediately knew what it was when the lizard tattoo man spoke.

"Calling for help won't do ya any good. As you can see, no one gives a damn."

The effeminate man leaned against the wall, standing just a couple of inches from the girl. He leaned his face in close to hers, and Izuku could imagine her feeling his breath coating her cheek.

"Just give us the money, sweetie. You can get more at home, right?" When the girl didn't respond, instead shivering with terror, he shook his head. "My, my. Refusing to answer her elders. What a bad girl..."

"That's alright," the muscular man said, sneering. "I like bad girls."

Izuku felt his heart stop when the man suddenly grabbed the girl's breast, causing her to yelp like an injured puppy. This only caused the other two crooks to laugh rambunctiously, as if their crony had merely played an amusing joke. Seeing this horrific, disgusting behavior unfold in front of his eyes made Izuku feel sick to his stomach. In his peripheral vision, he saw no discernible movement by the other onlookers.

_"Why is no one stepping in?!"_ he thought. _"Isn't anyone else here disgusted by this?!"_

Still, none of the onlookers stepped in. Some watched with unsure expressions, while others were slowly and awkwardly looking around, presumably wondering the same thing as Izuku. A few twitched, one after another, as if they were going to step in but reconsidered after they saw no one else was going to follow their lead. A couple of men actually seemed to be _enjoying_ the sight. Izuku was absolutely horrified by this.

_"This...This can't be happening! _No one _wants to stop this?!"_ Izuku looked at the alleyway and saw the girl looking away, trying to avoid inhaling the muscular man's breath like it was a toxic fume. _"I...I _have _to help!"_

But then, he took note of the harasser's bulging muscles and towering form, and the strong aura of confidence that was emitting from his body like a stench. At that moment, he felt an invisible force rooting his feet to the ground, paralyzing him.

_"W-Wait. Will those guys fight back if I confront them? Will have no problem with beating up a scrawny little kid like me, in front of all these people? It'll just be a pastime to them! There's no way I can stand a chance in a fight like that! I...I can't just stop them all by myself!"_

"Come on, sweet cheeks," the muscular man suddenly said.

The harsh, confident voice caused Izuku's blood to run cold, and his heart seemed to stop altogether. The boy could only watch the muscular man as his hand moved downward towards the girl's hip.

"Gimme the green stuff if ya know what's good for ya." And then, a carnal glint flashed across his left eye. "Unless you're into this sorta thing. In that case, I don't mind..."

His hand moved behind her hip, and Izuku looked away in horror, just as he heard the girl yelp again. He didn't want to know anymore. He didn't want to.

At that point, fear had completely taken Izuku like a tidal wave. The traumatizing event happening before his eyes, the intimidating forms of the robbers, and the presence of all these callous bystanders were weighing his motivation down. Hundreds and hundreds of thoughts were racing through his head a mile a minute, causing him to feel dizzy. He could feel his heart hammering against his sternum like a jackhammer at full strength.

_"Why is no one stepping in?! Do I need to do this by myself? But what if the crooks beat me up? And what if no one else follows me?! I can't do this alone__! Those crooks won't bat an eye at me! They'll beat me to a pulp! B-But I can't let that girl get attacked like that! But I don't know what's going to happen to me if I step in! Why can't I do anything?! I want to do something, _anything_! But I can't! I'm... I'm... I'm..."_

**_"Life's not fair, Midoriya-kun. It's unpredictable, a series of random occurrences. No matter how much mankind tries to control it, life somehow finds a way to make their efforts blow up in their faces. It has always been this way and it always will be. Sometimes things go your way, other times they don't. You never know."_**

_"Oh, why'd you have to say that, Shimura-san?!"_

Just then, he heard some strange noises coming from the alleyway, and saw some of the bystanders shifting awkwardly. He followed their gazes and saw the girl lying on the ground, silently weeping. Her clothes were now slightly rumpled and grimy. The muscular man was holding a brown wallet in his hand, smirking gleefully, as were his two cronies.

"Thanks, slut," he said. "I got to have twice as much fun today!" He stuck his hand into her wallet, fished out a couple of bills, and threw them at her. "Here. Consider this a form of payment."

With that, the man marched deeper into the alleyway with his two accomplices, their jeering, howling, evil cacophony of laughter echoing. The girl was still crying. Izuku looked back at the crowd and realized even more people were watching, but to his disgust, they were doing nothing. An older man seemed to be fiddling with his phone, but that was it.

_"_How long_ has this crowd been watching in the first place?!"_ he thought with outrage. _"Did they all really just stand there and do _nothing_?!"_ And then, his outrage turned into horror. _"But...I just stood there...and watched too... No matter what I think about this, I'm no better than these people! ...Perhaps I'm even worse! I...I knew she needed help, but I couldn't do anything about it...because I was scared... I could've done something..." _Izuku clenched his fists tightly once again._ "I could've done _something_! But I...I..."_

He stared at the girl, whose face he still couldn't see because of the shadows. She was still lying on the ground helplessly and crying. Without a doubt, she was wondering why no one came to her rescue, even though she was in a public area...

He didn't want to watch anymore.

He didn't want to be there anymore.

He didn't want to step in and help...because the opportunity came and went by already.

After what had happened, he didn't deserve to help her now...

The green-haired boy slowly took a couple of steps backward, away from the horrible crowd, his eyes still trained on the girl as she toiled in her horror and grief. His head was shaking slowly. His vision was blurring with tears and everything was turning into indiscernible, shapeless, meaningless blobs to him. Still, no one stepped in to check on her well-being.

_"I didn't do anything... I was a coward... I was no superhero..."_

Izuku started quietly weeping himself, as he allowed himself to be pushed forward by the mindless, careless crowd.

* * *

"Midoriya."

Izuku looked up somberly and was met by a pair of familiar eyes, razor-sharp and piercing in their judgment. After what had happened that morning, the boy felt as if he was already being incriminated for his failure to do the right thing.

"For once I didn't catch you reading one of your manga," Aizawa droned, the tone of his voice betraying the deathly look in his dark, beady eyes. "I'd commend you if you weren't still elsewhere in mind. Your lessons are what's important right now, not whatever is distracting you. Focus up."

Izuku merely stared back, his expression unwavering in its silence and vacancy. He could still imagine the girl weeping in the alleyway, the subject of passing glances by pedestrians who would never, ever waste a moment of their precious time to be Good Samaritans...

But then, he pushed away those thoughts and glared at the chalkboard that had on it writing that meant nothing to him, but he still pretended to care. Aizawa noticed this shift in attitude and how unconvincing and forced it was, but he merely walked back to his desk, seemingly resigned to the circumstances at hand.

"Well, it's a start," he said. "I guess..."

As soon as he returned to the desk, Aizawa resumed his lecture, but Izuku's mind returned to the girl in the alleyway.

_"I let all of that happen to her... I watched and let those men have their way with her... And when they left her like that, I _still_ didn't help... But why would I? I just stood by and watched even when I had the time and opportunity to save her. Help from me is the last thing she needs now. ...Yamikumo would've done better than me... A whole lot better..."_

Izuku glumly looked down at his backpack, which contained the _Our Hero Academia_ volumes that he chose to bring along for his private reading pleasure.

_"I want to read them, but I can't even look at them anymore. Not after I wanted to become a real superhero because of them, only for me to fail my own ideals. How could I become a superhero if I just stand there and let a crime take place because I was afraid?!"_ Izuku pushed the volumes out of his mind. _"I don't deserve to read them. I no longer deserve to be a fan. Shimura-san was right. Manga... It's messing with my head, making me think I can become something that, in reality, is totally out of touch with the world. I have to accept the fact that the real world is not a manga. I have to."_

Then, an image of multiple pedestrians staring at the crying girl filled Izuku's mind like an unholy water in a chalice. He gritted his teeth and lightly, slowly scratched the surface of his table in anger.

_"But how can I be part of a world that no longer has the time to stop and help a person in need...? Where_ I _don't have the time or motivation to stop and help...?"  
_

* * *

"No way, _really_?!"

"Yep! But I turned him down. You should've seen the look on his face!"

"Jeez, how cruel, Tokage!"

Izuku averted his eyes as he passed the group of girls in the hallway. For once, he didn't have manga on his mind for the majority of his class time. This time, he couldn't get the weeping girl and her cackling tormentors out of his head. He just couldn't. And now, every time he stared at a girl, even one of his classmates, his mind would go back to the alleyway.

_"I know she's a student here,"_ he thought somberly. _"She was wearing the school uniform from here. But I couldn't make out anything else about her." _At that moment, he spotted Momo Yaoyorozu near one of the windows._ "For all I know, she could be one of my classmates."_ Then, he spotted one of the girls Momo was talking to, Ibara Shiozaki of the neighboring classroom. _"Or someone from Uraraka's class."_

Then, his heart fell.

_"Or maybe Uraraka herself..."_

_**"Help!"**_

Izuku shook his head. _"You can't think like that, Izuku! If she's a student, she's most likely not here! She probably went to the police after the fact! She probably reported those evil men! It's no longer your problem. The police will find those crooks soon enough and get back her wallet..."_

But he sighed a broken sigh, laden with annoyance and irritation at those hopeless thoughts.

_"Why are you saying that, Izuku? _You _should've called the cops. That wasn't her responsibility. It was yours. Or perhaps someone else's...but would they _really_ have done that? Especially after how callously they acted when they watched her get..."_

Then, he looked up and saw yet another group of girls walking towards him, this time flanked by a few boys.

All of a sudden, every last member of the group turned their heads at him in a singular motion. The girls had accusatory looks on their faces, as tears streaked down their cheeks. The boys were grinning manically, their teeth bared like vicious fangs.

"Why didn't you help me?" the girls asked in one voice. "You were there..."

"Hey, thanks for the help back there!" the boys chorused in another. "We owe you!"

Izuku shook his head again and wiped his eyes of the tears that had formed at the corners. Then, he realized he stopped walking, so he continued onward. As he did, his ears listened in on the conversations all around him.

"Yo, bro! What'd you get in that chemistry test? Betcha it was terrible."

"A 69."

"Heh heh heh... 69..."

"Ooh, ooh! Did you just get a text from that cute Chinese exchange student?"

"Not yet. Got my fingers crossed!"

"Something tells me that's not gonna happen. You'll be all alone..."

"Goddamn, Kan-sensei put me in detention again. What a jackass."

"To be fair, you _were_ chewing bubblegum during class..."

"My pops is gonna start teaching me how to do auto repairs."

"Man, sounds rough."

"I can't _wait_ for the weekend to come!"

"Didja get the condoms for Saturday?"

"I hate my new teacher..."

"You've got balls, man..."

"I wish..."

"-you really don't..."

"He just-"

"-goddamn-"

"-you-"

"-he-"

"-she-"

"-we-"

"-I-"

"-I-"

"-I-"

I

I

I

I

I

An image of a girl on the ground, passed by everyone and helped by no one...

_"I hate everything. Darn it, I hate everything! Why did this have to happen?! Why did no one do the right thing?! W-Why did _I_ not do the right thing?! Why did I have to be such a coward?!"_

Izuku marched into the boys' bathroom and looked at himself in the grimy mirror. His green, trembling eyes stared back, razor-sharp and piercing in their judgment. For a moment, the boy wanted to punch the mirror, but he remembered that could get him suspended at worst.

So, he was just standing there, hating himself.

_**"Help! Help me! Someone, please! Help me!"**_

_**"Calling for help won't do ya any good. As you can see, no one gives a damn."**_

_"I didn't give a damn either. If I really did, I would've done something. But...But I didn't. I didn't. I couldn't. I wouldn't. I'm no hero. I'm a failure. I'm a failure!"_

As he toiled, he could vaguely feel his world spinning. He saw nothing but the alleyway now.

_"I failed that girl. I failed her. I failed. I failed, I failed, I failed, I... I-"_

The spinning was too much now. His head jerked itself towards the bowl of the sink, and he threw up. And as he did, two students that were standing nearby recoiled in disgust and left, unwilling to ask any questions.

* * *

Izuku stepped into the cafeteria for the first time.

It was almost like entering a foreign country. Students filled every table to the brim, chatting mindlessly with each other and laughing boisterously at confusing jokes. There was no table in sight that didn't have at least four students sitting by it. A strange but surprisingly pleasant combination of multiple fragrances hung in the air. The clean floor gleamed freshly and spectacularly from the bright sunlight entering through the windows.

_"I don't know where to sit..."_ he thought with his forced, uninterested voice. _"But I...I need to take my mind somewhere else... I have to if I'm gonna regain Shimura-san's favor and be allowed back into Plus Ultra..."_

He scanned the tables situated closest to him, one by one.

One of the tables was occupied by members of the school's boys' basketball team: the foul-mouthed Yosetsu Awase, the calm and collected Sen Kaibara, and the approachable chatterbox Kosei Tsuburaba. They were all discussing an upcoming game and a foul-up on Kosei's part during a past game, which brought tears to everyone else's eyes.

Another table was taken by members of the Literature Club, which was led by Jurota Shishida, a massive and monstrous-looking but surprisingly eloquent boy, who could easily be mistaken for a fully-grown man. Not unexpectedly, they were taking this time discussing an American novel that Jurota had recommended.

Yet another table was taken by the entire Manga & Anime Club. The founder, Mei Hatsume, was yapping on and on about the newest mecha anime while another member, Nirengeki Shoda, was forced to listen. Meanwhile, two other members, Manzo Fukidashi and half-Japanese, half-American exchange student Paula Tsunotori, were enthusiastically talking about the upcoming _Eggumon _games and what all-new features it might have. Finally, the fifth member, Toru Hagakure, Izuku believed the name was, had her face buried in an _Archery Craft Online_ light novel, obscuring all of her physical features. Izuku decided to check the other two tables first before he would decide to sit with them.

The fourth table nearby was occupied entirely by seniors, led by Mirio Togata and Nejire Hado. Those two were perhaps the most popular students in the entire school, more popular than Katsuki Bakugo even. Izuku remembered hearing little snippets on how the two of them seemed to have an on-and-off romantic relationship, basically a will-they-or-won't-they kind of scenario. Not that it interested him.

Then, he looked at the final table...and felt his heart flutter.

There, sitting at the edge of that table, was the girl of his dreams, Ochako Uraraka. She was smiling and chatting happily with her group of friends: the de facto big sister Itsuka Kendo, the frog-loving Tsuyu Asui, the stereotypical kuudere Yui Kodai, the idol-obsessed Kinoko Komori, and last but not least, the springy and cheerful Himiko Toga.

On instinct, Izuku walked towards that table, but then another instinct stopped him in his tracks.

_"Oh, no..."_ he thought miserably. _"There's barely any space in that table! If I sit down right beside them, I'm gonna look like a creep! And then Kendo's probably gonna karate-chop me in the back of the neck or something..."_

He took a couple of steps backward, only to bump into something. He heard a plastic tray clatter loudly on the floor, and something bursting out of a container and spilling.

"WHOA!" a chorus of familiar voices cried out in surprise, attracting the attention of the nearest students.

"I'm sorry!" Izuku cried, looking behind him and bowing his head repeatedly. "I'm so, so, so sorry! I'm-"

At that moment, he caught the sight of a familiar baseball grenade, circling around on the tray.

_"Just my luck..."_

Before he could look up, a hand grabbed Izuku's head, held on tight, and lifted it up for him. His soul recoiled at the sight of Katsuki Bakugo's fearsome, predatory hazel eyes.

"For a damn otaku," he snarled, "you sure know how to get on my fucking nerves when you get down to it..." He looked down, and though Izuku couldn't see what his bully was seeing, the scowl on his face was unmistakable. "And you _had_ to ruin my perfectly good shoes..."

"I'm-I'm sorry, Bakugo!" Izuku stuttered. "I-I d-didn't mean to bump into you, I-I promise-!"

"Come on, Bakugo!" Eijiro shouted from behind Katsuki. "Kick the otaku's ass!"

"Yeah!" Mina added, her fist raised with encouragement. "Show him what for!"

"Do it, do it, do it!" Denki and Hanta chanted from the sides, their grins wide and gleeful. Pretty soon, their voices were joined by a large handful of other students from the cafeteria.

Katsuki grinned madly, as he released Izuku's head and used his other hand to grab the collar of his shirt. His first hand curled up into a menacing fist.

Izuku shut his eyes tightly, awaiting the inevitable punch.

_"I guess this is punishment for being such a coward..."_

"Hey, leave him alone!"

Upon hearing that voice, Izuku suddenly felt extremely lightweight. He looked over his shoulder, as did Katsuki, and saw Ochako standing up from her table and marching over to them, her fists clenched and her lips pursed tightly.

"He said he was sorry!" she snapped defiantly.

Katsuki gritted his teeth. "Who the hell are you?" he asked. "And why the hell are you standing up for this loser?"

"I'm standing up for him because you're picking on him for no good reason!" Ochako crossed her arms and gave Katsuki a stare of intense focus and outrage. "Are your shoes so important that you have to take your anger out on him, even if he apologizes like any good person would?!"

"These are my lucky running shoes, bitch! No one fucks them up like that and expects to get away with it!"

Ochako's expression softened, but it did not diminish the defiant look in her eyes. "Well then, you must have a miserable life if you think your shoes are more valuable than a sincere apology. And you need to ease up on your language."

Izuku stared on dreamily. _"This isn't punishment for being a coward..."_ he thought. _"This is a sign of a better tomorrow! I...I don't deserve this kind of help...but...I guess I'll take it anyway..."_

But Katsuki was beside himself. "What...WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY, ROUND FACE?!"

"Yeah, you take that back!" Eijiro snapped angrily.

"Yeah!" Hanta cried. "D-D'you know who the hell you're talking to?!"

"Oh, I know who I'm talking to," Ochako replied with an unsatisfied voice. "And for the record, I'm not like all the other students here. I'm not someone who eats up all your good qualities like they're some gospel, Katsuki Bakugo. You may be a good baseball player but your head is clearly more inflated than all the baseballs you hit, combined."

_"This is unbelievable!"_ Izuku thought. _"She sees Kacchan for what he really is?! This...This is too good to be true! It's-"_

His thoughts were interrupted when Katsuki released his collar, causing him to fall over. Fortunately, Ochako had rather quick reflexes, and she caught him before he could suffer a rather nasty fall. But that was the least of Izuku's problems. He looked up and saw, to his horror, a sweating Katsuki.

_"Oh, no! Whenever Kacchan sweats, that means things are gonna go _REAL _bad! No one will be left alive by the time he's done! This isn't good! Uraraka, you've gotta get outta here!"_

"You..." Katsuki snarled, his voice bestial. "_You_..." He clenched his fist again, and it trembled like it was a rocket about to blast off. "You little...round-faced...who-!"

Four bodies thrust themselves between Katsuki and Ochako, shielding the latter from any potential harm.

"Back off, Bakugo," Itsuka Kendo said sternly. "You're just asking for detention." Then, on instinct, she looked at Himiko Toga and was dismayed to see her literally drooling at Katsuki's direction, so she lightly elbowed her side to get the blond girl to refocus.

"Out of my way, ginger." Katsuki slammed his fist into his open palm; the slapping of skin echoed loudly. "You may know karate and all that Jackie Chan shit, but you don't stand a chance against my-"

"Bakugo, I'd back off if I were you," another voice said. "She'll annihilate you, easily."

Katsuki scowled towards the side of Ochako's posse, where Neito Monoma was standing. He was carrying his own tray of food, which looked like it was plucked out of the menu of a high-scale French restaurant.

"And remember, the baseball game's tomorrow. I don't think detention's the wisest place to be in right now."

The blond gritted his bared teeth. "Fucking detention..."

However, he seemed to accept defeat...for now. Katsuki bent down and picked up his food tray, making sure his baseball grenade didn't roll off on accident. Then, he glared daggers at Izuku, causing a shiver to run down his spine.

"Don't think you're gettin' away _that_ easily, otaku," he snarled. "You're gonna pay me back for what you did today."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ochako replied sarcastically. "Get lost, Bakugo."

"And take your boyfriends with you," Itsuka added.

Katsuki scowled nastily at the group of girls before marching off in stomps, with other nearby students fearfully stepping aside for him. As he left, he could be heard grumbling curses to himself, and he acted as if he stepped in manure instead of getting his shoes wet. Katsuki's friends followed after him, but Eijiro and Mina stayed behind for a moment.

"Just so you know, otaku," spat Eijiro, "Katsuki doesn't forget. You're not gonna be hearing the end of this anytime soon! Ya hear me?"

Izuku shivered fearfully, but Ochako replied flatly, but with an annoyed tone, "Go away, Kirishima, Ashido."

"Yeah, come on, Kirishima," Mina said, tugging lightly at the redhead's sleeve. "The baby's not even worth it." When she saw him hesitating, she grinned slyly and added in a whisper, "If you're a good boy, I'll give you a BJ later..."

"I heard that, Ashido," spat Ochako, her voice laced with utter disapproval. "You should be ashamed of yourself for being like this."

Ashido ignored her and tugged at Eijiro's sleeve again. "Come on, Kirishima..."

Eijiro gave Izuku one last scowl before following the ganguro. Once they were gone, Ochako sighed with immense relief.

"Jeez, I didn't think I'd survive that," she whispered, almost to herself. Then, she smiled at her friends. "Thanks, girls."

"No problem, Uraraka," Tsuyu replied.

"Yeah, anything for our sweet cheeks," added Itsuka teasingly.

_**"Come on, sweet cheeks..."**_

The alleyway reentered Izuku's mind, and the green-haired boy froze. All of the happiness and joy at being saved by his crush of all people was washed away with the returning tsunami of guilt and self-loathing. The voices of Ochako and her friends were now distant to him, and sounded as if they were trying to speak to him while he was underwater.

_"Uraraka knows when to step up for people in need,"_ he thought. _"And I don't. If she's better than me even in that sorta thing...then I don't deserve to be in her presence... I don't deserve to be saved by her... I shouldn't be happy because of a selfish thing like that..."_

Ochako's voice, suddenly speaking in his ear, dragged him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Izuku didn't respond. Instead, with a quivering lip, he pulled himself out of her arms (he realized at that moment he was still in her grasp) and walked out of the cafeteria. He could still hear Ochako calling out to him, but he shut her voice out.

_"It was a mistake coming here. I can't even look at her without thinking about that alleyway..."_

* * *

For the first time, Izuku didn't follow Ochako and her friends outside when school was dismissed for the day. Instead, he took the opposite direction, hoping to find a secondary exit so he could slip out unnoticed. Every few minutes, he had to wipe his eyes and sniffle, his mind still haunted by the memories of what happened that morning.

"Hey, would you look at that?" a voice asked, though Izuku ignored it. However, he could smell a foul stench of cigarette smoke hanging in the air.

"Yeah, it's the guy Bakugo yelled at in the cafeteria," replied another.

"I remember him," a third said, and Izuku recognized that voice as belonging to Mezo Shoji. "He's in my class. He spends more of his time reading manga than listening to the teachers."

"_Manga_?" asked the first voice. "Man, that guy sounds like a loser who dreams too much."

There was a brief, infinitesimal silence before Mezo replied, "Yeah, you can say that again. Hey, I caught him doing some really weird poses in the bathroom before school started yesterday. I think the guy wants to be an over-glorified badass or something. Like an action star, but full-time and without the movie production. You know what I'm saying?"

"Wow, he really _is_ a freaking loser! I mean..._goddamn_."

Izuku pursed his lips as he walked past them. _"I don't remember being caught by him,"_ he thought. _"He probably kept it to himself. Or worse, he spread the story around. Heh. That's just great. Now I know I'm a big laughingstock around the school because of my childish love of manga. ...But to be honest, that doesn't sound new. Why should I be surprised? At least I'm starting to realize just how childish I'm being..."_

"Hey!"

_"I now know what my place is in this world. And it's not to be something glamorous or idealistic."_

"Hey, you!"

_"It's to be someone who contributes to society. Someone who hides behind a desk, unable to inspire hope by himself."_

"Guy with the green hair! Wait up!"

Izuku spotted a trashcan, situated in the middle of the bathrooms, and felt his backpack get a little heavier.

_"Someone who can't view the real world like a manga." _He sighed sadly and prepared to remove his backpack._ "Perhaps I should get rid of my stash. Perhaps I should just give up on my dreams-"_

He suddenly felt a warm hand on his shoulder and looked behind him. There stood-

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" he screamed. "U-U-_URARAKA_?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry I startled you," the chestnut-haired girl replied, flashing him one of her adorable, cheerful smiles. "See, I didn't get a chance to catch your name, so I called you out by your hair." Then, she blinked with confusion. "W-We're you in the middle of something?"

"Uh... Uh... _Uhhhhhhhhhh_..."

But Izuku couldn't think of the right words to say. In his mind, he was freaking out, naturally.

_"Holy whoa, Uraraka's _talking _to me! She actually wants to _talk_ to me! And she wants to know my name! What alternate universe is this?!"_

"Hey, your face is red," Ochako piped up, leaning her face in a little to survey his. "Are you sick or something?"

Izuku couldn't form anything beyond the basic moans and groans as a response. Ochako immediately took a step back.

"Well, it does explain why you had to leave in a rush." The chestnut-haired girl then spotted the boys' bathroom. "Well, if you need to clear out your lunch or anything like that, you can go on ahead. I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll just be waitin' outside-"

"NO!" Izuku yelped before he could stop himself.

Ochako was taken aback. "Huh? So you're feeling alright?"

But once again, Izuku didn't respond to her query. At that point, he realized how profusely he was sweating. In the midst of his anxiety, the alleyway was shoved back to the rear of his mind.

_"Oh, no! My collar and armpits must be drenched by now! Oh God, I must look like a total mess to Uraraka! But who can blame me?! I just said my first word to her! I actually _talked back_ to her! We're having a real conversation! We're-"_

His thoughts were interrupted by a giggle that sounded more like an angelic melody to his ears. Ochako was smiling.

"Jeez, you're quite a funny guy. Haven't you ever talked to a girl before?"

_"Crud, she's a mind-reader!"_

"Anyway, I apologize for my abruptness. Let me start over." She gestured to herself. "I'm Uraraka. Ochako Uraraka." She then gestured over her shoulder, to a girl who (Izuku realized for the first time) had been standing there the whole time; she had bob-shaped black hair, cerulean eyes, and a neutral expression that bordered robotic. "And this is my cousin, Yui Kodai. Please excuse her; she's not much of a talker."

_"Yeah, I know your names already..."_

"What's your name?"

_"She wants to know your name! You...You gotta tell her! You gotta respect what she wants, Izuku! Just be cool, just be cool!"_

"M-M-M-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mid-Mid-Mid-"

_"I'M DOOMED!"_

Now Ochako was flabbergasted. "_Wow_... So you've _never_ talked to a girl before."

_"Now she's gonna think I'm a loser! Just my luck!"_

But, to his surprise, she didn't walk away or treat him with disgust and contempt. Instead, she got a little closer to him.

"Hey, hey, relax! No need to rush." Suddenly, she raised her arms, and pressed all of her fingertips together; Yui did the same, seemingly out of habit. "Okay, do what I'm doing. Press your fingertips together and take a deep breath."

Izuku quickly repeated her movements, pressing his own fingertips together and taking a deep breath, though it was fast and ragged.

"Good! Do it again, but this time, breathe slower."

Izuku did it again, and as he did, he could feel all of the excess energy and emotions leave his body. He felt like a balloon that was slowly deflating.

"Alright! Keep doing it until you feel better!" Ochako's voice started to soften with every word. "Don't focus on whatever thoughts you're having; just focus on the breathing. The breathing and nothing else. Maintain the pressure between your fingers. Not too hard, not too soft. Just right."

He followed her instructions down to the last detail, and as he did, he realized he was feeling cooler all of a sudden.

_"It's...It's _working_! Holy whoa, Uraraka's a saint..."_

"Are you feeling better now?"

Ochako's voice drew him out of his thoughts, and before he knew it, Izuku's voice was smooth and lacking in shakiness.

"Yeah... I'm fine..."

The girl clapped her hands together with delight. "There you go!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "I knew you could do it!"

"Where...Where'd you learn _that_...?"

"From a family friend back at home. Anyway, mind telling me your name now? I'm curious!"

Izuku gulped a little. "I-Izuku Midoriya..."

"Midoriya, huh?" She giggled briefly. "I like that name! It sounds cute."

_"She _likes _my name?! She thinks it's _cute_?! ...She...She likes my name! She likes my name! She- Uh-oh..."_

He had to press his fingertips together again and took a few more deep breaths.

* * *

"Why'd you want to talk to me, Uraraka?" Izuku asked as he, Ochako, and Yui stepped out of the school building, about a half-hour later. "I'm not exactly the first person a girl would want to talk to..."

"Don't say that, Midoriya," the chestnut-haired girl replied. "I'm talking to you now, am I?"

_"That's true..."_ he thought.

"And I wanted to talk to you because you ran off during lunch. At first, I thought it was because you were coming down with something, but clearly you're fine." She looked at him with concern. "Is it because of Bakugo?"

Finally, the alleyway returned to Izuku's mind, but for once, it didn't bother him as much. Perhaps it was because of the presence of his crush. Regardless, he pursed his lips and shoved the thought away again.

"Yeah," he whispered in response.

She sighed sharply and critically. "I figured."

Izuku looked at her with surprise, and then he remembered the exchange she had with the blond bully.

"W-Wait a minute, you don't like him?"

"Yeah..." Bitterness suddenly crept onto Ochako's face. "On my first day of school, I saw him and his jerk friends picking on a guy for no apparent reason. They were holding his notebook over the fish pond and he was crying his eyes out."

_"I guess she's talking about me,"_ Izuku deadpanned in his thoughts. _"And it wasn't a notebook, it was one of my manga. Not that she'd be interested..."_

"I wasn't sure if I should step in and how," Ochako continued. "So I told the teachers, but I don't think they did much of anything."

_"Oh no, they did. They gave him a slap on the wrist."_ Then, the green-haired boy smiled subtly. _"At least I now know she was watching over me that day..."_

"Since then, I heard a lot of chatter about Bakugo. A lot of good stuff. Bakugo is a great baseball player. Bakugo blew up the other team. Bakugo will be a great pro player someday. Bakugo this, Bakugo that." Ochako exhaled. "But I've known the truth about him since my first day. And I knew he hadn't changed since that time, since I also heard whispers about him terrorizing students who couldn't defend themselves."

Ochako flexed her fingers, something Izuku was quick to notice. His eyes widened slightly with disbelief.

_"I can't believe Uraraka actually feels that way about him. Irritation, dislike... I thought she'd be like many of the other students: eating him up and praising him like a god, even if they know about his more terrible qualities..."_

"I hate it when people pick on others who they think are defenseless," she said boldly. "It's... It's just not right."

"Y-You and me both..." Izuku finally replied, all the while trying his best to suppress his shock and inner giddiness.

"I also hate it when other people don't do something about it. The teachers can't discipline Bakugo properly, all because they want him to help the school beat the others in baseball matches. Many of the other students are either blind or just just plain afraid of him, because no one confronts him and his friends when they bully someone like you." Ochako looked at Izuku with a soft smile. "That's why I stood up for you. Because no one else wanted to."

Izuku's lip quivered, and he blushed brightly. "A-A-And I th-th-thank you for that, U-U-Uraraka..." he stuttered.

"You're welcome, Midoriya! And I just wanted you to know, if Bakugo's picking on you again, you come to me, alright? I'll teach him a thing or two in manners!"

Izuku struggled to contain his inner joy. "O-Of course..."

Ochako's smile widened with cheerfulness. This prompted Izuku's rosy blush to deepen even more, and he began to feel the sweat return on his forehead. In a desperate effort, he shifted the conversation elsewhere.

"So...where do you live?" Then, he thought, _"Oh, no! I asked Uraraka where she lives! I can't believe that was the topic I wanted to focus on! Ohhhhh, I hope I didn't sound like a creep!"_

Fortunately, she responded, after some apparent deliberation, "Well, I'm living with Yui and her parents, in an apartment on the southwestern corner of the town."

"O-Oh. Wh-What about your parents?" Then, Izuku thought, _"But I already know the answer to this, though... Aaaaaagh, don't worry about it, Izuku! She doesn't know you already know! Ju-Just act natural! Act oblivious! You don't wanna look like a stalker, do you?!"_

"They're at my real home, in Mie Prefecture."

"M-Mie Prefecture, huh? Isn't that in Kansai?"

Ochako nodded.

"I figured. You have that accent." Izuku scratched the back of his head. "So...what brought you here...?"

"W-Well..." Ochako stared at the ground with a soft, humble smile. "My parents run a construction business, but it hasn't exactly lifted off in recent times. Most of the time, the three of us lived paycheck by paycheck. But my parents knew how much potential I had, so they saved enough money to send me here, even if it meant taking some of it out of their own paychecks. And my aunt and uncle were more than happy to take me in."

Izuku could've sworn he heard some uncomfortable shuffling behind the two of them, but dismissed it.

"Oh, wow! So you plan on going to Yokohama National University after graduating?"

"Yep." Ochako giggled a little. "Gosh, you're an observant guy, Midoriya!"

_"Well, that's mostly because I already overheard that while following you around like a stalker..."_ Then, Izuku explained, "W-Well, Yokokoku is one of the highest-ranked universities in Japan and Yokohama's close by, so I thought-"

"_Relax_, Midoriya," interrupted the chestnut-haired girl. "That was supposed to be a compliment!"

"O-Oh! W-Well, th-th-thank you, then! Th-That means a lot to me, Uraraka! It...It really does..."

"Well then, I'm glad to hear that, Midoriya! Anytime!"

Izuku smiled even more. "S-So, what do you wanna be when you graduate from Yokokoku? What's your plan?"

"My plan...?" To his surprise, Ochako suddenly looked crestfallen. "My parents want me to become a doctor, but..."

Her voice trailed off, prompting Izuku to say, "You want to be something else."

"Yeah." Then, after a brief pause, Ochako blurted out on instinct, "I want to be a police officer."

...

...

...

"A...A _police officer_?" Izuku repeated. He didn't expect this part.

Ochako nodded affirmatively and determinedly. "Like Yu Takeyama."

"Like Yu Take-"

Izuku stopped in mid-sentence as memories started flooding back to him. He recalled the newspapers his mother would read, and how the local police department would occasionally show up in the articles. There was one story that made the headlines for a couple of weeks...

"W-Wait," he said. "Y-You mean _the_ Yu Takeyama?! The first female detective of our town's police department?!"

"Mm-hm!" She nodded vigorously with a surprisingly energetic smile. "I think she's awesome! She helps people in need and stops at nothing to do the right thing! I...I wanna be just like her..." She looked down at the ground sheepishly. "No one in my family knows it, but that's what I aspire to be. A hero like her."

_"HOLY WHOA!"_ Izuku thought with surprise. _"She pretty much has the same dream as I do! That's unbelievable! I didn't think she would have that kind of goal, even if it is a little more realistic! What're the odds of _that_?!"_

Ochako suddenly giggled. "I know it sounds kinda silly. Me, the nice, bubbly lil' country girl, being a police detective and chasing after bad guys. Not really the two images you'd put together easily-"

"I think that sounds like a _great_ goal!" the boy blurted out, nearly startling her.

"You...You think so?"

"Of course! W-Wanting to help people in-in need and-and stopping those w-who want to do others wrong... Th-That's the greatest and most h-_honorable_ goal in the world! A-At least it is to me. S-So I wish you the best of luck!"

"Oh." Ochako's bright smile widened even more. "Thank you, Midoriya!"

"Y-Y-You're w-w-welcome!" Izuku didn't want to see his face right now. "S-So...wh-why'd you tell me all that...?"

"Well, barely anyone knows about what I really want to be. The only people who know are Yui, my friends, and yourself. I only trust the kindest and most gentle people to keep a secret like that for me...and I think I'm a pretty good judge of character when it comes to those qualities."

_"And she calls me _kind and gentle_?! This...This is too good to be true! This has to be a dream!"_

Ochako continued, "I plan on telling my folks, but only when I feel the time is right. In the meantime...just keep that to yourself, alright? This is a big town, but it's no city. Word can still travel fast. So I'm counting on you, Midoriya!"

"Right!" Izuku had to fight the urge to salute and embarrass himself in front of his crush. "I will keep that secret close to my heart, till the end of time! I promise you that, Uraraka!"

"Till the end of time, huh?" Ochako chuckled. "Wow, you really sound like a manga character, Midoriya!"

_"Aaaaannnnnd I just blew it! I blew my chances with Uraraka! I'm such an idiot! I just wanna die-"_

"It's quite adorable, actually."

_"I didn't blow it! I...I _didn't_ blow it! HOORAY!"_

"Well, since we're on the topic of my future, I guess it's time to learn yours! So...what do _you_ want to be, Midoriya?"

...

_"This is gonna be a tough one." _Then, acting quickly and avoiding unreasonable, overly idealistic goals, Izuku replied out loud, "A-A mangaka!"

The memory of Toshinori's face that evening, masked with an expression of disappointment, flashed across his mind, but the boy managed to stomach it.

"A mangaka, huh? That _does_ explain the kind of language you just used. Well, I wish you the best of luck as well!"

_"Oh, thank goodness I didn't say I wanted to be a superhero. I'd hate to think what her reaction would be..."_

All of a sudden, Uraraka asked, "Hey, wanna join me and my friends for a study group session tomorrow?"

...

"A...A _study group_...?" repeated Izuku in disbelief.

"Yep! A friend of mine invited a whole bunch of us over, and it's not like the teachers here have any unique testing styles. So whatever you hear is universal stuff in our grade level. You won't be learning new or missing out on anything new."

"S-S-So o-oth-_other_ people will b-b-be there...?"

"Well..._yeah_. It _is_ called a study group for a reason." Then, Ochako crossed her arms suspiciously. "It's not gonna be an all-girls party, if that's what you're worried about. Or are you happy about that?"

"N-No! Th-That's not it! I-It's just...y-you're inviting me out of the blue...that's all..."

"If there's one other thing I learned about Bakugo, it's that he and his friends just _love_ to gang up on people who barely have no friends, if any at all. And no offense, but you look like a total loner."

"Well, I guess you could say that I am..."

"Well..." Ochako smiled a terribly infectious smile. "I say not anymore."

Izuku's green eyes widened. _"This is just too good to be true! I-Is it?"_

"So, what do you say? Wanna join the study group? And don't worry, no one there will bite you. We're all part of the anti-Bakugo squad so there's nothing to be concerned about." She then paused for a quick moment. "Well, one of my friends is actually _sorta_ in love with him, but it's a hopeless crush and she has no real chance of pleasing him. Everyone knows that. So you don't have to worry about her."

"We-Well..." Izuku hesitated for a brief moment. "I-If everyone there doesn't like Bakugo, th-then how could I say no to that...am I right...?"

"I'll take that as a yes, then! Awesome! Here, lemme write down the address for you..." Ochako removed her backpack, and got out a blank sheet of notepaper and a pencil. "Hey, Yui? Would you mind letting me write on your back?"

Izuku nearly fell over in shock at the sight of the bob-haired girl as she nodded.

_"HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN STANDING THERE?!"_

As soon as Ochako was done writing, she handed the sheet of paper to Izuku, who took it with a trembling hand.

"Here you go, Midoriya," she said. "Don't worry about getting lost or anything. The house shouldn't be hard to miss."

Izuku stared at the paper in disbelief. "Wow... I...I have no words, Uraraka..."

"Just make it there by eleven in the morning. I'm sure there'll be a lot to talk about then." Then, Ochako took a glance at her hot-pink wristwatch. "Uh-oh, we gotta go! Home's the opposite direction!" She took Yui's wrist and half-dragged her away while the latter maintained a comical poker-face. "We'll see you tomorrow, Midoriya! It'll be fun, trust me!"

Izuku wanted to call out to her, but by that time he could muster an audible voice, she and her cousin were already way out of earshot.

"I'll...I'll see you tomorrow..."

_**"You're not allowed to come back here until you find something productive to do at school, Midoriya. I don't care what it is, as long as you make friends and enjoy life beyond the pleasures of manga."**_

Toshinori's words returned to the forefront of his mind, and Izuku looked down at the notepaper.

_"Perhaps this is my chance,"_ he thought. _"If I go to that study group and make some real friends, then I'll get rid of that childish dream of mine and learn to truly appreciate the real world..."_

**_"I hate it when people pick on others who they think are defenseless. ...I also hate it when other people don't do something about it."_**

**_"Help!"_**

_**"Calling for help won't do ya any good. As you can see, no one gives a damn."**_

Izuku sighed sadly, but he nevertheless folded up the piece of paper and carefully put it in his pocket. Then, he stared off into the sunset as it painted the town in a bright shade of pinkish-orange. Once again, his heart was filled up with guilt at his own happiness.

_"I hope that girl's doing alright..."_

* * *

**A/N:** And we're done with this chapter! I sincerely, legitimately hope you all made it through in one piece.

Notwithstanding certain scenes, I had fun writing and revising this chapter like the previous ones. As you can see, I put a couple of familiar characters in interesting new roles. Yui Kodai of Class 1-B is Ochako's cousin in this AU timeline, which took inspiration from the fact that they have similar designs and Quirk activation mechanisms, not to mention both were sprung from the prototype Yuu Uraraka character that ultimately became Mt. Lady. As for Himiko Toga, she's ironically a friend of Ochako's just like how Shigaraki is now Izuku's online friend, but we'll see how long that strange little friendship lasts. ;)

Anyway, there won't be another chapter for this story for a couple of weeks or so. I'm now going to focus on another one of my fics, because that hasn't been updated for a while. Once I've updated that story, I'll get back to this one. So now it is time to exercise some well-earned patience, grasshoppers! Don't fret; I'll be back before you know it.

Now I'd like to thank the following people for reviewing:

**-2010si:**

**1)** Oh, sorry about that. I still expect some details out of you, but you don't have to be descriptive. Just tell me what you liked or what you didn't like about a chapter. It'll be helpful for me so I can make the story more exciting for you if needs be.

**2)** Uhhhhh, what do you mean by "pack street" and "Synergistics"? Are those the titles of other AU fics?

**-Tohsaka143:**

**1)** Uhhhhh...there was no need for you to submit reviews for both existing chapters. One review per chapter is perfectly fine for me...

**2)** Wow! I'm so glad I'm already breaking a lot of MHA fic conventions with the way I'm writing this story! And I intend to continue keeping up the good work!

**3)** Yes, the Hero Club will involve its members cosplaying as superheroes and helping out the citizens of their hometown. It's going to be quite exciting once we get to that stuff!

**-playganes:** Could you please be more specific in your review? What exactly did you find great about the chapter or the story so far? Is there perhaps anything you would like me to change or address? Please, I need details so I can improve the story for you!

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	4. Time to Make Some Friends

**A/N:** The latest reviews I got for the last chapter have convinced me to put up this reminder, out of concern that people will forget again after finishing up this chapter.

There WILL be OOC behavior on the part of some major characters for the first few chapters, such as this one. This isn't an oversight or a sign of my ineffectiveness, but an intentional choice and a rather vital part of their story arcs in this AU fic. Things **WILL** get better as we go along, I promise, but for now, you'll just have to bear with it in the meantime. Yes, I know it's a bit painful. Trust me, it gets grating sometimes for me as well. But I'm just a big fan of taking stories a little slowly in terms of pacing and devoting time to exploring characters, even if they're radically changed at certain points.

I assure you, I know what I'm doing, even with the jarringly OOC stuff, and the rest of the story will gradually make up for it. Everyone will become the characters you all know and love. I really wish I could prove how seriously I take these characters, and how much I actually want them to be accurate, by writing a non-AU fic already. Unfortunately, I'm just so swamped with school and work at the moment, not to mention I'm still trying to figure out a solid plot.

But believe me, guys, it won't be long until we get to some real-life superhero stuff. ;)

* * *

_**Hand of Shigaraki has joined the chat**_

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Yo, Smelly! Is your body ready? Today's the day!

_**Yamikumo-PU has joined the chat**_

**Yamikumo-PU:** Why, what's happening today?

**Hand of Shigaraki:** The new OHA movie is coming out, that's what!

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Gonna watch?

...

**Yamikumo-PU:** Sounds great, Shigaraki!

**Yamikumo-PU:** I'd love to talk about it, but I can't right now.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** ?

**Hand of Shigaraki:** You're always available on the weekends. What happened?

**Yamikumo-PU:** I need to go with my mom somewhere.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Sucks to be you.

**Yamikumo-PU:** I don't know how long I'll be gone, so just hold onto that for now.

**Yamikumo-PU:** I'll be right baxk

**Yamikumo-PU:** I meant to say I'll be right back soon.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** LOL.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Why not use acronyms?

**Hand of Shigaraki:** They make life so much easier.

**Yamikumo-PU:** It's just too lazy.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** KJ.

**Yamikumo-PU:** ?

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Killjoy.

**Yamikumo-PU:** I have to go now. I'll catch you later.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** See ya, Smelly.

**Yamikumo-PU:** Ha ha. Very funny, Shigaraki.

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Never gets old, I swear.

_**Yamikumo-PU has left the chat**_

**Hand of Shigaraki:** Fine. If you want to be that way...

_**Hand of Shigaraki has left the chat**_

* * *

"I'm off to my study group, Mom!"

Izuku stumbled towards the door while simultaneously putting on his other shoe. He was about to open the front door of the apartment when he heard his mother's voice address him, softly and timidly.

"Izuku, sweetie?"

He looked over his shoulder and saw her entering the hallway, fiddling with her flower-patterned apron. A sense of déjà vu swept Izuku's senses for a moment, but he quickly dismissed it.

"Yes, Mom?" he asked, his voice calm and almost confident.

Inko merely stared at him, her eyes, as green as his, shimmering with concern. At first, Izuku thought she was going to voice her disapproval of him going to the study group. There seemed to be no doubt of that, since she looked conflicted on her next words and actually started to tremble a little from overwhelming anxiety. Even though the stout woman tried her hardest to make herself look composed, the boy could make it out as clearly as day.

Eventually, she reluctantly smiled and said, "I'm so glad you're starting to make friends at school. I'm so proud of you."

Izuku stared back at her for a moment before replying, "I'm glad too."

"I mean... I-I don't mean to sound cruel, sweetie, but ever since what happened with Kacchan, you haven't been close to anyone. You avoided your classmates like a plague. And I thought things were getting worse for you in high school." She looked down at the floor, relief now gracing her face. "So I didn't believe you at first, when you said someone from your school asked you to come to a group study session. But then you showed me that person's handwriting. It was... It was like a dream come true for me. It was almost too good to be true."

_"That's _exactly _what I thought, Mom,"_ Izuku thought. _"Sometimes I still wonder if I'm just walking into a trap..."_

"Oh my, look at the time! You need to get going, honey." Then, Inko remembered something and blurted out, "J-Just call me if you feel uncomfortable over there in any way."

"Don't worry, Mom. I think I'll be just fine." Then, he added in his mind, _"Especially with Uraraka there."_

"A-And don't do anything they tell you to do if you're uncomfortable with it! Don't give in to peer pressure!"

"R-_Relax_, Mom. I know what to do. ...I know what to do..."

Izuku turned towards the front door and held the knob in his hand, but he paused when he heard Inko address him.

"Izuku...?"

He looked over his shoulder and saw his mother looking back at him with concern.

"If you don't want go...you don't have to..."

Izuku frowned. "Mom, I want to go. What makes you think I don't want to?"

"Well...you just seem..." She briefly hesitated. "A little _too_ enthusiastic about this whole thing..."

_"Well, that's only because Uraraka's there..."_

"Are you _really_ not worried about anything at all, sweetie?"

"No." Izuku looked away with an ambiguous expression. "No, not at all, Mom."

And with that, Izuku opened up the front door, allowing the sunlight to pour into the hallway. It was a sunny day outside, and the atmosphere was just as ordinary and peaceful as yesterday. Izuku knew that wasn't the case, though.

"I'll see you later, Mom."

* * *

**_"Help!"_**

_**"Calling for help won't do ya any good. As you can see, no one gives a damn."**_

_"_I_ cared...even if I didn't do anything..."_

Izuku stopped in front of the alleyway and looked down its shadowy corners. It was grimy, a horrendous stench filled the air, and articles of trash, old and new, were scattered everywhere despite the presence of several metal trashcans. It was a perfect place for crooks to hang out at...crooks like the ones from yesterday...

The boy scanned the area where the robbery and assault took place. The first thing he noticed was the presence of crime scene tape barring people from coming too close, which contrasted with the absence of police officers.

_"So I guess _someone_ did report this to the police,"_ Izuku thought. Then, he scoffed grimly. _"It's good to know someone cared after the fact. But then again, who am I to talk?"_

He then looked over his shoulder and saw all of the pedestrians walking in all directions except for his. It was the exact scene from any other day. Everyone was absorbed in their personal matters and passed by the alleyway, avoiding it like the plague, never giving any thought on what happened there yesterday...

No one even bothered to stop and ask Izuku why he was loitering in a shady, unsettling place like this, especially when it was clearly marked as a crime scene.

_"And just like yesterday, no one cares...except for me..."_

He looked down at the ground as a single dirty rat scurried by his foot. Though he couldn't remember for sure, he sensed it was the exact spot where the girl was sprawled all over. He could easily imagine being that girl, looking up helplessly at her attackers as they mocked her and threw money in her face.

**_"Thanks, slut. I got to have twice as much fun today! Here. Consider this a form of payment."_**

Izuku resisted the urge to throw up. _"I shouldn't be here. I really shouldn't. But..."_ He removed the backpack he brought and set it on the ground. _"I don't know how else to apologize..."_

He unzipped his backpack, which revealed all of the _Our Hero Academia_ volumes he had in his possession, a number of textbooks, and the Yamikumo cosplay. However, atop all of that, there were three pink flowers that he plucked from his neighbor's windowsill in an almost impromptu move; he would probably have to apologize to his neighbor later on. With a sigh, Izuku took the flowers out and looked at them.

_"Now I'll never know who that girl was, even though I will always be in close proximity with her every day at school. Talk about cruel..."_ With another sigh, Izuku laid the flowers at his feet. _"But this is the best I can do now. The other option is to simply forget about it, and I can't do that. I just can't. She probably won't come back here and see these, but it's the thought that counts, right...?"_

He cursed himself for trying to think on the bright side of this dilemma. And as he did, another rat scurried by and, with a squeak, snatched up the flowers.

"H-Hey!" Izuku cried, but he was unable to pursue the rat because of the crime scene tape. He then watched powerlessly as the rat ran off with the flowers in its mouth, squeaking loudly and leaving skittering noises as it went.

And as he watched the rat disappear into the distance, Izuku noticed there was light at the other end of the alleyway. It was presumably the street that was on the other side of the buildings he was in-between.

And at the other end of the alleyway, there was a small group of nasty-looking thugs standing there, smoking cigarettes and doing who knows what else. They weren't the same crooks from yesterday, but Izuku instinctively hid behind one of the trashcans, knowing full well the group wasn't good news either.

"Hey, didja read the papers yesterday, Touya?" one thug asked. "Those Shie Hassaikai sure are a slippery little bunch of bastards, eh?"

"No need to remind me, Bubaigawara," replied another thug in a cool voice as he took another puff of his cigarette.

Izuku peeked his head out from his hiding place and saw, to his relief, that the thugs weren't moving. Instead, they were leaning against the walls and enjoying their leisure time. But he doubted they would be nice and cordial to him should he make his presence known.

"Makes ya wonder how they're able to pull that off," a third thug said inquisitively before turning his head sideways. "Ya got any ideas, Kugizaki?"

But the man didn't get the response that he wanted. Instead, Kugizaki remarked, "Hey, look at that rat, ya guys."

"What about it?"

"Whatcha think it's eatin'? Looks weird."

"Looks like a bunch of pink flowers," Touya replied.

"Pink flowers? HA! Gay. Who the hell gives out _flowers_ nowadays? All ya gotta do is bang the bitch and bail!"

"_Especially_ if you forget to use a condom," added a fifth thug jeeringly.

"Hey, speaking of condoms," said the third thug, "didja hear what happened over there?"

Izuku recoiled on instinct, just as Kugizaki asked, "No. Fill me in, Tochi."

"'Parently Iguchi and his pals mugged a girl there. One of 'em got in a good feel too, if ya know what I'm saying."

"Really now?" the fifth thug asked. "_Sweet_."

"Yeah! 'Cording to Iguchi, the girl was a _real_ hottie too."

"Real?" Bubaigawara asked, his curiosity peaking. "How real?"

"Like, real real."

"R-_Real real_?!"

"They were goddamn lucky, I tell ya! Sadly they had ta bail because other people were watchin'."

"Yeah, I heard about that..." Touya replied distantly.

"Goddamn Iguchi," spat Bubaigawara. "Bastard shoulda called us over so we could get a piece of that action! At the very least, I'd kill to be one of those people who were secretly pervin' in on the whole thing!"

"Guess everyone's secretly a pervert these days," suggested Kugizaki. "Can't say I blame 'em, though. Ya see how those high-school girls dress and act these days?"

"I'll say," the fifth thug replied, snickering lasciviously. "I get a hard-on every time I see my cousin on Facebook!"

"Heh, figures. Trash'll always go with other trash."

The others roared with laughter, except for Touya, who just took yet another puff of his cigarette, and the fifth thug, who clearly registered the insult. Izuku didn't want to listen in on the crass conversation anymore, so he stood up, zipped his backpack shut, and left the alleyway as quickly as he could before he could get spotted. And as he continued onward, the memories of the crooks' laughter and all of the crime news articles that he read flashed across his mind.

_"This town has become so awful,"_ Izuku thought bitterly.

* * *

"Am...Am I in the right place...?"

Izuku looked up from the notepaper Ochako had given him and made a quick visual scan, but he saw no houses in sight, only trees and steel fences on either side of the street. He had been walking in this area for perhaps an hour, and it was almost 11:00 A.M. The rooftops of the nearest urban buildings were barely visible over the canopy, standing tall at such long distances. The green-haired boy began to sweat nervously, unable to comprehend such strange and almost foreign surroundings.

"I know this is the correct street, b-b-but...I don't see any sign of life here!" Though he continued walking, Izuku's green eyes began to well up with tears, and his lower lip quivered. "Ohhh, Uraraka's playing a cruel prank on me! I-I just _know_ it! Ohhhhh, she and her friends must be watching me right now, laughing their butts off! I should've known this was too good to be true! Mom was right! I should leave! I should-"

He suddenly came across a majestic gateway with tall, cobblestone columns on either side. However, there was nothing in sight but a driveway and sidewalk that snaked almost precariously into the forest. On one of the cobblestone columns was a three-digit number, and Izuku quickly looked down at the sheet of paper again.

"Holy whoa!" he exclaimed to himself. "This is it! Uraraka wasn't lying after all! I knew it!" Then, he looked around. "Uh... W-Wh-What do I do now, though...?"

All of a sudden, he spotted a small screen on the first column. Approaching it out of curiosity, he also identified a smaller speaker and a button beside said screen. After ruminating his next decision, Izuku lifted his index finger and pressed the button. It triggered a small, harmless buzz, but other than that, nothing happened for the next few seconds. He pressed it again, but still, there was just a buzz and nothing more.

"Huh...I guess no one's home-" he began.

The screen activated itself, revealing a stunning face with onyx eyes and long black hair styled into a ponytail.

"Whoever you are, we don't want any," she said sternly.

"Agh!" Izuku cried, stumbling backward. "I-I'm sorry! I-I thought-"

Suddenly, the girl's eyes glinted with recognition, though she frowned with disapproval. Something about her expression, coupled with the elegant aura about her, greatly intimidated Izuku for some reason.

"Oh. You're Midoriya." She tutted, which made Izuku gulp a little. "Uraraka said you were coming..."

"U-Uraraka?!" He smiled with bursting excitement. "Sh-She's here?!" Then, he leaned in towards the screen and gasped with recognition. "Hey! Are...Aren't you, uhhh, Yaoyorozu?"

Momo ignored him and said, in a voice that barely masked her irritation, "You may come in."

The gate opened up slowly but automatically, its metal frame creaking eerily. Izuku watched in awe as the pathway was revealed to him in all of its glory. He felt as if he was being given the royal treatment.

"Th-Th-Thank you so m-" he began.

"And please don't get lost."

"YOU'RE SAYING I CAN GET LOST IN HERE?!"

But Momo ignored him again, and the screen flickered out, leaving the boy alone again. He stared ahead at the pathway and gulped nervously at the sight of the dark forest ahead of him. Then, he put on his best expression of determination, gripped the straps of his backpack tightly, and went forward.

_"Stay calm, Izuku,"_ he thought. _"Just follow the pathway, and don't look into the forest. Who knows what kind of stuff is in there? ...I can't believe Yaoyorozu lives in the middle of a place like this, though. I mean, I knew she had money, but I didn't think she would be _this _rich! This has to be a very big property if the first thing I see of it is this forest! And who knows what her actual house looks like?! It's gotta look like a palace! Or a skyscraper! Or-Or maybe a-"_

His thoughts were interrupted when he came across a simple log cabin, situated at the end of the pathway. At first, Izuku was unable to process what was standing before him. Then...

"**THIS** IS HER HOUSE?! THIS CAN'T BE!"

However, he didn't give up. Instead, he approached the wooden front door and knocked on it thrice. Almost immediately, the door opened up, revealing a middle-aged, average-sized man with light, short, spiky hair; bags under his exhausted eyes; and a perpetual grimace that looked hilarious.

"What is your business...?" he droned.

"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya," the green-haired boy replied, quickly averting his eyes to ensure he didn't rudely laugh out loud at the man's expression. "I'm...I'm here for Momo Yaoyorozu's study group... Uh, O-Ochako Uraraka invited me over?"

"Ah yes, she mentioned you... Just let me get the sheet..."

After releasing a loud yawn, the man approached a conspicuously large cabinet, opened up one of its drawers, and took out a clipboard with a piece of paper. As he did, Izuku stared at him curiously.

"Uh, sir?" he asked. "Are you Yaoyorozu's father or something...?"

"Her _father_?" The man's grimace suddenly intensified. "I'd rather eat literal shit in front of a crowd than associate myself with that family in _that_ way." He handed Izuku the clipboard. "Here. Sign yourself in."

Izuku stared at the sheet of paper. It was a sign-in sheet with a ridiculous amount of detail and formality, complete with names, dates, times, and reasons for the visit. He saw that a number of people had signed themselves in a few minutes before him: Tsuyu Asui, Shoto Todoroki, Rikido Sato, Kinoko Komori, Ochako, Yui Kodai, Hiryu Rin, Himiko Toga, Itsuka Kendo, Mezo Shoji, and...

_"Iida..."_

**_"You will _never_ accomplish anything in life, Midoriya."_**

Izuku's grip on the sign-in sheet tightened, which the grimacing man noticed.

"Hey, man," he said sternly, "you'd better sign in right away or I'll sic the guard dogs on you."

"You have guard dogs?!" Izuku blurted out, his voice cracking in terror. Then, he recomposed himself and filled out all of the required spaces. "Okay, I'm in."

The man took the clipboard from his hands and nonchalantly pointed towards a backdoor. "You leave through there." He yawned for a moment. "You'll reach the main house."

"Th-The main house? So this _isn't_ Yaoyorozu's house?"

The man scowled down at him. "What are you, dumb, kid? Do you _really_ think the Yaoyorozu family, who control ninety percent of Japan's manufacturing companies, would live in a crappy shack like this?"

Izuku gulped. "I-I guess not-"

"Get outta my sight, kid! The Yaoyorozus have put a lot on my plate as it is!"

The boy immediately obliged and strolled to the backdoor. He unlocked it and slid it open, whereupon he was greeted by a fascinating sight: he had reached the end of the forest and was now staring at a massive front courtyard.

The cobblestone pathway from the cabin first led to a fountain of intricate design, which spouted out water from multiple directions. Some of the hoses from which the water was coming from were tilting and rotating in a wild variety of angles so the beams of water could move as well and give a small water show for people to behold.

Behind that fountain was a line of European luxury cars, along with a black limousine. They were all facing another gate, which seemed to lead into another street that would then lead into the town.

Then, behind that line of cars, there was a cobblestone walkway that led towards a smaller, less intricate fountain with a fish pond. And behind that fountain was, without a doubt, the Yaoyorozu manor, a large, traditional-style Japanese house with three stories, a number of balconies for each floor, and various gold-tinted windows that glittered from the sunlight.

_"**HOLY WHOA**!"_ Izuku thought, his mind overwhelmed with complete shock. _"Yaoyorozu lives _here_?! And Uraraka invited me _here_?! This...This has _gotta _be a dream, r-right?!"_ Then, he slapped himself on both cheeks and felt the stinging pain slowly fading away on his skin. _"I guess this isn't a dream..."_

Now that he assured himself of the reality of the situation, Izuku took his first steps towards the Yaoyorozu manor. Each step he took was bold and purposeful, a complete contrast from yesterday's incident at the alleyway. For once in his life, Izuku didn't have _Our Hero Academia_ or the dream of becoming a superhero on his mind.

Instead, he was committed to meeting his schoolmates and getting to properly know them.

_"I've gotta have faith in the real world. I've gotta..."_

It took Izuku five minutes to reach the Yaoyorozu manor. Upon approaching the front door, he raised his hand, hesitated for just a moment, and then gently rapped his knuckles against its polished, gleaming surface. Almost immediately, the door opened up to reveal a pair of beautiful, well-dressed maids.

"Hello, Izuku Midoriya," one of them greeted, bowing her head politely. "Young Yaoyorozu told us you would be coming."

"Please, step inside," the other said, repeating the same movements as her colleague. "And do leave your shoes with the others."

Izuku slowly nodded and did as he was told, making sure his oversized red shoes joined the other pairs. The moment he stepped into the manor, his green eyes widened to the sizes of saucers. He was already in an expansive hallway, with a row of old but well-cleaned chandeliers hanging above him and illuminating him with golden light while a pair of majestic staircases sat at the other end. There were other hallways leading into additional rooms, and lining the walls were tables holding a wide variety of ancient-looking vases.

_"How in the world is Yaoyorozu going to my school when she could've afforded a private school in Yokohama...?"_

Izuku's thoughts were interrupted when a familiar voice called out, "Midoriya! You came! HOORAY!"

He turned his head towards the nearest hallway to the left and saw Ochako running up to him with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. She was no longer in her school uniform; instead, she was in a light-pink summer shirt and black shorts. In an instantaneous move, he blushed intensely and looked away. The sight of her right now was too much!

"OH!" he exclaimed. "H-H-Hey, Uraraka..."

"I'm so glad you could make it, Midoriya!" Ochako replied with pumping fists. "The study group could use a fresh pair of eyes when we're reviewing our subjects! Oh, how was it like, seeing Yaomomo's house for the first time? I bet your mind was so blown! I can't even begin to imagine what your face looked like! I mean, I remember nearly fainting when I first came here! It's so awesome, having a friend who's loaded, huh?"

"Relax, Uraraka," another voice said. "I think Midoriya lost you after 'study group'."

Izuku pursed his lips after looking over Ochako's shoulder. Approaching them was Tenya Iida, who still maintained a prim and proper choice of clothing outside of school, what with his light-blue, buttoned-up shirt and khaki jeans.

"H-Hey, Iida..." Izuku replied, Tenya's words from yesterday still reverberating in his mind.

But, to his utmost surprise, Tenya smiled kindly at him. "Hello, Midoriya," he greeted. "I must say, you really impressed me today. When Uraraka informed me you'd be coming to this study group, I initially didn't believe her. But then, when you showed up at Yaoyorozu's front gate, I realized you were finally taking your education seriously. And for that..." He bowed his head politely. "I deeply apologize for doubting you."

Izuku, taken aback by the class representative's generosity, could only reply, "Th-Thank you, Iida..."

"See, Iida!" Ochako suddenly exclaimed with crossed arms. "I told you Midoriya would come! He just needs someone to be nice to him, that's all!" She pouted at him, though it instead served to make Izuku's heart flutter at the unintentional adorableness. "So you need to stop being a killjoy and start loosening up a little!"

Seemingly ignoring the chestnut-haired girl, Tenya raised his head and said, "Anyway, enough of that... Let's commence with the study group." He turned around and walked the opposite direction. "Come on, Midoriya. I'll introduce you to the others."

Izuku and Ochako followed him into the hallway, and the green-haired boy watched Tenya open the first door to the left.

"Alright, Midoriya," Ochako said, tapping Izuku's shoulder. "You're gonna be meeting my friends. Everyone's nice, alright? We don't suck up to Bakugo...well, maybe except for Toga, but we all know that's not gonna go anywhere. So there's no need to be nervous."

Realizing he was actually going to interact with his peers, Izuku began to sweat nervously.

"That's exactly the problem, Uraraka..." he managed to utter.

"It's gonna be alright, Midoriya! Just act natural. Everyone will warm up to you eventually. And if things get awkward, I'll step in. But you need to trust me."

Izuku slowly looked at Ochako and realized she was staring back at him with her doe-like brown eyes. The sight of those stunning pupils made him blush, and he didn't know if she noticed.

Regardless, she gently asked, "Do you trust me, Midoriya?"

"W-W-With a-anything?" he stuttered anxiously. Then, he forced a confident smile onto his face. "A-Absolutely."

"Alright! Then go on in! I promise, there's nothing to be afraid of."

Izuku stared at the doorway, where Tenya was waiting. He gulped before proceeding into the room, and he could hear his crush's footsteps sounding behind him.

He entered the room and saw his peers congregated around a large, oblong table, illuminated by a bright-gold chandelier hanging above them.

Momo Yaoyorozu, the class vice-representative, was seated closest to the doorway. The young socialite-to-be looked like she was more dressed up for a game of golf, given her own buttoned-up, collared shirt of pale-pink and purple, and her grayish-white, buttoned skirt that reached her thighs. She glanced at him, her eyes shooting a look of intimidation and disapproval behind a pair of small, red, rectangular glasses.

Sitting beside her was Itsuka Kendo, the representative of the class next to Izuku's. Much like Momo, her ginger hair was tied in a ponytail, which hung from her left side. She was also wearing a yellow summer dress with a blue belt and a blue waistcoat. In contrast to Momo, she spotted Izuku and gave him a warm, welcoming smile.

Hunched slightly in his chair was Shoto Todoroki, one of the school's heartthrobs. His completely red hair hung from his forehead and nearly obscured his gray eyes, which were completely focused on the textbook before him. He was wearing a dark-blue waistcoat, a white shirt underneath, and dark-gray jeans.

The next one was Kinoko Komori, who was apprehensively peering over Shoto's shoulder through the bangs of brown, bob-shaped brown hair. In contrast to her shy, introverted demeanor, she was dressed like a character straight out of a fairy-tale. Her red-and-white, polka-dotted medieval-style dress was frilly and with a wide skirt, and her red headband had protrusions that suspiciously resembled mushrooms.

Hiryu Rin was the final one sitting at Momo's side of the table. The Chinese exchange student was wearing a dark-blue T-shirt with white stripes and a white collar, along with dark-blue jeans with a large white stripe running down each of the leggings. Hanging from his chair was a brown buttoned coat with with a large collar and a thin white stripe running down each of the arms. He looked up from his own textbook and stared at Izuku with a startled, confused expression.

On the other side of the table, Himiko Toga was the only one who wasn't focused on Izuku or the textbooks. Instead, the petite, fair-skinned, dirty-blonde girl was completely focused on her cellphone, the device seemingly holding her catlike, hazel eyes in a deep trance. She was blushing brightly and giggling manically as she abruptly started typing away. Also, rather conspicuously, she was the only one in the group still wearing their school uniform, as if they were the only pieces of clothing that she had.

Beside her, Mezo Shoji kept his distance from the tremendously frivolous schoolgirl. He had a tall, muscular body; spiky black hair that stood upward rigidly like blades; a pointed chin; and beady, dark eyes with a stare so razor-sharp that it reminded Izuku of Shota's. He was also wearing a laurel-green tank-top that allowed him to show off his massive arms, as well as army-green cargo pants. Slung around the armrest of his chair was a thick grayish-blue scarf.

Tsuyu Asui had just returned to her chair, having apparently retrieved a drink from somewhere else in the manor. Despite her infamously brutal and straightforward personality, she had a surprisingly serene, motherly face, with sparkling green eyes and dark-green hair that was tied into a ponytail. She was also wearing a dark-green, buttoned-up waistcoat; a tan skirt; a tan, light scarf with lily-pad patterns; and, to Izuku's surprise, a pair of brown boots and gloves.

Next was Rikido Sato, who was happily eating a slice of cake from a saucer. Like Mezo, he was an exceptionally tall and muscular teenager, with short and spiky brown hair, beady eyes, bushy brown eyebrows, and pronounced lips that would look swollen to any unprepared person. He was also wearing a simple white T-shirt that accommodated his hulking size and bore the word 'SUGAR' in bold, capital letters, as well as a pair of black pants that had a few crumbs on them.

Finally, there was Ochako's cousin, Yui Kodai, who still had the same neutral, robotic expression from yesterday. She was now wearing a light-brown, long-sleeved shirt; a flannel skirt fastened by a dark-brown belt; and olive-green stockings.

"H-H-Hey, guys..." Izuku stuttered nervously, raising a hand to greet his peers. However, he was only met with confused, wary stares from Hiryu, Mezo, Tsuyu, and Rikido; Shoto, Kinoko, and Himiko didn't seem to notice he existed. He began to sweat from the awkwardness of the meeting.

Fortunately, Ochako stepped in for him. "Alright, everyone!" At that moment, everyone's stares were drawn towards the chestnut-haired girl, except for Himiko. "Now that Midoriya's here, let's get this study group session underway!"

"Yes, let's, Uraraka..." Momo replied slowly, as she continued to give Izuku a stern, disapproving gaze.

"Yes!"

With Momo's begrudging approval, Ochako cheerfully sat down on one of the chairs positioned at the head of the table, while Iida sat down on the chair next to her. Then, Ochako looked at Izuku and patted the seat on her other side, giving him a warm, welcoming smile all the while.

"Come on, Midoriya! You can sit down next to me. We're gonna review English first. Hope you're good at it!"

Izuku looked from the seat to Ochako's brown eyes, which gleamed with energy and eternal joy. He could feel his heart squirm with pleasure.

_"I can't believe this is happening!"_ he thought. _"I...I have to make this session count. This could be my chance to make real friends! Just act natural and be interested. And no manga or superheroes for today! These guys definitely don't have the patience for that stuff. Yes, just act natural...and be interested!"_

With that, Izuku took Ochako's offer and sat on the chair.

* * *

_"This was a mistake..."_

That single thought crossed Izuku's mind once the group was done reviewing their math homework with one another. For the preceding hour, they did absolutely nothing but go over everything they learned in school and what to expect in the upcoming tests. Naturally, everyone seemed to quickly forget he was a member of their study group except for Ochako, who became his go-to reviewing partner, and Tenya, whose only interactions involved reminding him to stay focused on the tasks at hand. And there was barely any room for casual socializing thanks to Tenya and Momo's steadfast dedication to academics.

The only upside was the fact that the maids kept bringing them a wide variety of well-made foods every fifteen minutes or so.

Eventually, once they covered English, history, and math, the group elected to take a break, much to Izuku's relief.

"Phew!" cried Ochako as she leaned back on her chair. "If only math wasn't such a hit to the brain!"

"Hey, speaking of math hitting your brain," Rikido asked, his eye twinkling craftily, "did you know math is an acronym?"

Everyone else except for Izuku rolled their eyes.

"Don't tell me, Sato," Itsuka replied flatly. "Math stands for 'mental abuse towards humans'."

"Y-Y-Yeah... Pretty much..." But Rikido looked highly disappointed that his joke was ruined.

Izuku looked back and forth between the dismayed Rikido and the exhausted Itsuka. In his mind, he got the joke almost immediately, but he did not think it was funny. But after seeing Rikido's disappointment, the green-haired boy knew that he had to do something to remedy his dilemma.

So, he began laughing loudly and forcefully, attracting everyone's attention.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" he cried. "Mental abuse towards humans! That's a good one, Sato! Really, that's a good joke!"

"Math is NOT a joke, Midoriya!" exclaimed Tenya, silencing Izuku almost instantly. "Math is an essential subject in many, many fields! Without numbers and calculations, nothing in this world would function in the first place! Society would be reduced to nothing more than a singular unit of anarchy! You should not be so dismissive on its usefulness!" He glared at Rikido, who was blushing with humility at Izuku's praise. "And the same goes for you too, Sato!"

"Okay, okay!" the thick-lipped boy replied. "I get it, Iida!"

"That aside," Itsuka said, "you need to find new jokes, Sato. If you're gonna be a comedian, you need to keep looking for fresh ones. Otherwise, your audience is gonna bail on you before your third day can even begin."

"Hey, I'm trying! But all the other comedians have taken the good jokes! I'm racking my brain trying to think of a brand-new gag that I can capitalize on!"

"You know, you _could_ go to the drama club. Todoroki, isn't the next play supposed to be a comedy?"

"Mm-hm..." mumbled Shoto as he gazed absentmindedly through a window.

"What's the drama club got to do with anything?!" exclaimed Rikido.

"Sato, you haven't exactly done anything when it comes to stand-up performing. Might as well start practicing."

"You know how I can get with audiences!"

"Then how can you expect to become a comedian if you get stage fright?! Besides, we technically count as an audience, so I don't see what your big deal is."

"That's 'cause there's only, like, fifteen people in this room-"

"Thirteen," corrected Tenya. Kinoko nodded nervously in agreement.

"And I've been practicing with you guys for the entire year! A theater's worth of onlookers for a night or two isn't enough to get me...oh, what's the word...?"

"A-Ac-Acc-Acclim-m-m-mated?" Kinoko suggested in a stutter.

"Acclimated! That's it!"

"Just imagine they're not there, Sato," Mezo said. Then, he rolled his eyes. "Plus, it's not like a lot of people are coming anyways. Everyone may be trying their hardest but things aren't looking up for the drama club, am I right, Todoroki?"

Shoto merely let out a noncommittal noise as a response. However, Izuku was surprised by what Mezo had just said.

"Th-The drama club isn't doing well?" he asked curiously.

Mezo looked at Izuku with surprise, apparently having forgotten he was there, but then he replied, "Y-Yeah. The teacher, who's the adviser of the club, isn't really giving the students a whole lot of resources, and it's kinda wearing down their motivation. It's pretty sad, actually. A lot of clubs are on their last legs, except for that Manga & Anime Club. Hatsume just doesn't know when to give up."

"The Manga & Anime Club?" Hiryu asked. "You mean that otaku club?"

Izuku grimaced at that description while Mezo replied, "Yeah, that club. ...Pretty ironic, huh? I'm honestly not really sure how Hatsume does it. The adviser for that club is like all the other ones, disillusioned and lacking faith in the students."

"I was gonna say all the teachers are like that. Like, _holy_. I don't think other schools in the country are _this_ bad."

"It's doubtful," Tenya said. "We're talking about hundreds and hundreds of schools. Ours can't possibly be the _worst_."

"Even so," Tsuyu piped up in response, "our school needs to fine-tune what they're teaching. My class has been stuck on the same geometric problems for the past couple of weeks. Our teacher spends the whole day talking about one problem and I don't think these textbooks are even up-to-date."

"Yeah," Hiryu said. "Some of the problems are even worded horribly. It gets confusing. It's kinda embarrassing, actually."

"I heard Aizawa-sensei is the only staff member who actually tries. He's even helping out students from other classes."

Unbeknownst to Tsuyu, Izuku released a low scoff.

"It sorta explains why he looks so sleepy all the time," replied Hiryu. "I honestly feel bad for him, even if he looks kinda scary. If only the school had the same kind of motivation as he did..."

"I don't think it's _that_ bad," Momo said stiffly.

"Are you _kidding_ me, Yaomomo?!" Ochako cried. "You're seriously _okay_ with this?! _You_ of all people?!"

"It's what the school can afford right now, and I will gladly accept it. It's not like I don't have access to the Internet." The wealthy girl took a sip out of her recently delivered teacup. "We just have to treat this as an obstacle for our future goals and ambitions."

"We're talking about the commitment of the teachers, you know..."

"You know," Itsuka said, "my friend in Shiketsu says it's the exact same story over there." The redhead rested her face on her palms. "Bad textbooks, disillusioned teachers, poor disciplinary measures... The education in this town just hasn't been the best in a while now. It's pretty disheartening."

"All of you, don't lose hope!" Tenya cried determinedly. "There are bills being drafted as we speak! Once they're passed, we will be seeing additional funds being channeled to our schools!" He crossed his arms and stuck his chin out nobly in a way that left Izuku impressed. "And in no time, our schools will become respectable institutions once again! All we need right now is just a little patience!"

"Yeaaaaahhhhh..." replied an unconvinced Rikido. "No offense, Iida, but even with someone like your brother as our vice-mayor, I don't think it's enough to get this town fixed in just a few weeks or months."

_"Oh, yeah,"_ Izuku thought, remembering reports of last year's local elections. _"I forgot Iida had an older brother. Tensei, I think the name was."_

"Plus, everyone knows the mayor is corrupt as hell," Mezo added, his voice cold in the lack of emotion. "Someone _clearly_ has the mayor in the palm of their hand, but I don't know who would want the schools to suffer financially."

"Didn't he approve a measure for even more money to be spent on the warehouse district?" asked Tsuyu.

"Yeah, that's correct. _Ostensibly_ for reconstruction purposes." Mezo scoffed bitterly. "What a load of bull."

"Language," Momo said offhandedly. In the background, Kinoko looked a little taken back by Mezo's harsh tone.

"And that's why my brother was voted into office!" Tenya exclaimed, his voice radiating pride. "Everyone else is aware of the misuse of public funds and have acted accordingly by voting in the man they have the most confidence in! And now, with my brother's influence and strong sense of honor, the mayor will surely see the error of his ways and do all he can to restore this town back to its former glory! And I know for a fact that my brother will _never_ let his citizens down!"

"Hey, I'm not doubting your brother, man," Rikido responded. "But he's the _vice_-mayor, not the mayor. And if there's one thing I learned in history class, it's that whoever has the bigger stick wins. And who knows? Maybe the power will get to your brother's head-"

He was silenced by a deathly glare from Tenya, whose piercing eyes and shining glasses gave him a menacing demeanor that brought chills down Izuku's spine.

"You may continue to view things in a pessimistic light, Sato. I clearly cannot stop you from viewing things the way you so desire. But _I_ will continue to place my complete faith in my brother. He's never let anyone down in his life and he has no intention of doing so ever. He would rather _die_ than stoop so low in exchange for something as horrific and despicable as unimaginable power and control, all at the expense of innocent lives!"

"I-I-If you insist, I-Iida..."

A tense silence filled the room, and Ochako, Itsuka, Kinoko, Hiryu, and Mezo fidgeted awkwardly. No one was sure what to do in order to break the ice and shift the conversation elsewhere.

Then, Shoto spoke for the first time since Izuku entered the room. The green-haired boy was surprised to hear his voice, so calm and collected in spite of the earlier conversation that erupted around him.

"So, are you gonna go to the game later tonight, Shoji?"

"Y-Yeah," Mezo replied, a bitter frown suddenly forming upon his face. "Bakugo will have my ass if I don't." He puckered his lips in a slight grimace. "What a prick. And _he's_ supposed to be my team captain?!"

"T-Tell me about it," Rikido said, relieved that they were no longer going to be talking about politics.

As soon as Katsuki's name was mentioned, Himiko shot up on her chair, startling Izuku.

"Hey!" she shrieked, her catlike eyes suddenly wide and trembling. "Don't you **DARE** disrespect my dear Katsuki, Shoji! As his beloved soulmate, it is my responsibility to protect him!"

"_Protect_ him?" asked Mezo in a flat voice.

"From what?" Rikido added, rolling his eyes. "The truth?"

"The _truth_?!" Himiko was on the verge of bawling out in tears and exploding in unmatched rage at the same time.

At the side, Ochako rolled her eyes and whispered, "Oh, no. Here we go again..."

"Why?" Izuku asked, his interest finally caught. "What's happening?"

"Remember when I told you one of my friends had a hopeless little crush on Bakugo?" The chestnut-haired girl pointed at Himiko, who was close to blowing up in Rikido and Mezo's faces. "That's her."

"_Her_?"

"Yep. Himiko Toga. She was one of Bakugo's _conquests_." Ochako punctuated the last word with air quotes. "But what he didn't count on was her obsessing over him and doing everything she can to get herself involved in his life. She follows him on every last social media site known to man, she texts him every five minutes, she calls him every night to wish him a good sleep, she attends all of his games uninvited, she..." Ochako paused. "Well, she's pretty much a stalker."

Izuku blinked, flabbergasted. "W-Wow... Th-That's kind of an understatement..."

"My sweet lil' Katsuki and I are a match made in the heavens!" Himiko suddenly cried with a wide, dreamy smile. "We're gonna marry when we graduate and settle down in a cabin in the countryside and have lots of children and..."

She went on and on, earning a concerned look from Izuku. "D-D-Don't you think she needs an intervention?" he asked.

"We've been trying that the whole semester," Ochako replied softly. "_Clearly_ that's been working out well for us. I'm still trying, but I think she's in deep." She sighed sympathetically. "If she keeps this up, I'm afraid Bakugo's gonna snap from all of that attention from her and reject her. And I don't want that to happen to her. She really is a sweet girl. She's just, you know...a bit of an airhead..."

"Toga, settle down," Momo suddenly said, silencing Himiko's rant. "I'd prefer spending this study group session _without_ Bakugo's name being mentioned." She then gave glares of warning at Rikido and Mezo.

"B-But _Yaomomo_-" whined Himiko.

"Bakugo isn't the center of your universe. You have more pressing things to worry about, namely school."

"What about it?!"

"If you don't maintain your focus on your studies, you will see the same results from last semester, perhaps even worse. You said your grades have still been slipping?"

"Yeah..." But then, the dirty-blonde's pout disappeared and was replaced by an insouciant smile and a bright blush. "But I don't care about them anymore! I'll just flunk out and be a full-time housewife for my dear Bakugo!"

To Izuku's surprise, Momo nor anyone else seemed surprised by this flippant declaration.

"Yeah, sounds like a great plan," Hiryu replied sarcastically.

"_Really_?!" Himiko squealed, her hazel, unfocused eyes sparkling with oblivious excitement.

In disbelief, the exchange student lowered his head to the table counter. "Y..._Yeah_... Sure, Toga..."

"So," Momo said, trying her best to restrain her irritation, "does anyone want dessert?"

Izuku was suddenly overwhelmed by the response.

Ochako, Rikido, Himiko, Hiryu, and Kinoko were clamoring with excitement and submitting suggestions to Momo on what they wanted from the maids. Tenya quickly jumped in by warning the five of the potentially high amount of calories they would be consuming. In response, Itsuka jokingly told him to not take the transaction so seriously, while Tsuyu made a joke about Tenya being as stiff as a robot, unsurprisingly agitating the class representative. As for Shoto, Mezo, and Yui, they continued to sit idly in their chairs and read their textbooks.

Meanwhile, Izuku merely sat in his chair and watched. Everyone else was either talking animatedly to each other or just so absorbed by their textbooks that they had no seeming awareness of their surroundings.

_"I've only managed to speak to them once,"_ he thought. _"I also laughed at Sato's joke, but that's about it."_ He scanned each and every member of the group. _"I don't think they remember that I'm here. It figures. I'm quite a forgettable guy. I don't stand out in any way. I don't try to engage the others. Not that I really want to."_

Izuku's green eyes narrowed sadly. _"I can't commit myself to their likes and dislikes. I can't bring myself to understand what they're talking about and getting riled up about. __I can't measure up to any of them. Not even Uraraka. __How am I supposed to bond with people who know what they want while I'm just wandering aimlessly and chasing after childish dreams that are too big for me or anyone else?"_

With a deep breath and pursed lips, he began packing his textbooks into his backpack. As he did, he saw the manga and the Yamikumo cosplay he brought along for reasons that now eluded him. But he simply sighed and continued packing.

_"I don't belong here with them. Not with them, not with Uraraka. I'm sorry, Uraraka. I tried. I really did, Uraraka. But...I just don't get it... Any of it..."_

Now that he had made his final decision, Izuku stuffed the last textbook away and stood up from his chair. The first one to notice was Ochako.

"Midoriya?" she asked. "Where are you going?"

"I just realized I had an errand to take care of for my mom," Izuku replied, his heart recoiling all the while. "I...I'm sorry, but I can't stay any longer."

"Are you sure about that, Midoriya?" Tenya asked. He had a suspicious glint in his eyes, but he maintained his usual tone of voice. "If I can recall, we've got a test coming up and you need all of the reviewing and tutelage you can get. Please, I insist that you stay, at least until we conclude our studying session."

"Mm-hm, mm-hm!" Kinoko uttered in agreement.

Izuku suddenly felt his skin crawl at the sound of Tenya's unusually calm and hospitable voice. _"Iida's not convinced!"_ he thought worriedly. _"He's gonna see if I'll take him up on his offer or straight-up leave! An-And if I do leave, it's gonna be over between me and him! He'll keep seeing me as a loser and a nobody who doesn't take his life seriously, even if I did just try to turn my life around! Do...Do I really_ want _that...?"_

He then looked at Ochako, who was looking at him expectantly. He was not sure if everyone else's eyes were on him as well, but nevertheless, the pressure began to build for him. Then, he imagined what the conversation would be like if he did leave.

_**"Uraraka, I suggest you stop talking to him. Midoriya clearly has a reckless disregard for his future and his well-being."**_

_**"You're right, Iida. You're always right. I don't even know why I invited that dummy in the first place!"**_

_"What am I thinking?! Me, leaving?! All because I'm intimidated by everyone around me?! Despite of Uraraka's kindness in inviting me?! This was such a STUPID idea! I gotta endure it! This is my chance to get real friends! And I can't let her down like that!"_

"Now that you put it _that way_..." Izuku replied. Moments later, he returned to his chair.

"Are you sure about that?" Ochako asked. "What about your mom?"

"I'll text her and come up with an excuse."

Izuku then looked at Tenya, who was staring back with a surprising expression of approval. Great relief crashed over him like a tidal wave, and he had to prevent himself from collapsing back on his chair like a pile of bricks.

_"Everything's gonna be fine, Izuku! Just take this whole thing one step at a time! You don't have to talk with the others if you're not comfortable. They won't mind. J-Just ease into this whole thing and be patient. Don't expect things to go your way right away! That's right, don't expect things to go your way right away!"_

* * *

"And that concludes our study group!"

_"Finally..."_

Everyone stood up from their chairs except for Izuku, who was half-asleep, and Himiko, who was still texting vivaciously on her cellphone. Textbooks, pencils, pens, and notepaper were strewn all over the table; and there was a glowing sense of triumph and closure over much of the group.

"I can't believe we're finally done!" Ochako exclaimed. "Even if all that stuff was boring and not up-to-date, it was quite a challenge to swallow!"

"You can say that again..." moaned Hiryu.

"So..." Rikido said awkwardly, "what do we do now? We've still got an entire day ahead of us..."

"I've got an idea!" exclaimed Itsuka. "Why don't we go see a movie?! There's some good releases coming out today."

"A movie?!" squealed Ochako. Her brown eyes lit up with sheer joy, as did those of many of the others. "I'd _love_ to! Ooh, ooh, I wanna see that movie about the two astronauts lost in space! _Attraction_, I think the name was. I saw the trailers and it looks _really_ good!"

"Figures that you'd want the romantic adventure movie," remarked Itsuka.

"I for one would love to see _The Splendid Seven Samurai_," Tenya proclaimed, his voice swelling with passion. "I think it's a truly inspiring film for our eyes to behold!"

"I-I wanna see th-th-the new S-Sw-_Sweet Idols_ m-m-movie..." stuttered Kinoko nervously.

"You guys don't know where the real action is at," Mezo replied. "That American boxing movie _Credo III_ will surely blow you guys out of the water."

"_Credo III_, huh?" Itsuka asked, smiling brightly. "I'm in for that one!"

"That movie doesn't look good, guys," Ochako replied, pouting. "Too much punching and yelling and loud noises."

"While I do not necessarily disagree with your choice, Shoji, Kendo," Tenya said, "I think we should pay some of our due respects to Japanese history by watching _The Splendid Seven Samurai_."

"Come on, Iida," Itsuka replied. "We all know you just wanna see some samurai sword-fights."

"That in its own is a noble relic of our country's identity! Why must you speak so lowly of it?!"

"I'm gonna have to side with Iida on this one," added Hiryu.

"Thank you, Rin. At least you're interested in learning Japanese history and ancient culture."

"Come on, Rin..." Itsuka moaned.

"Guys, guys, _guys_," Rikido said slowly, stepping in the middle of the congregating group. "So we disagree on what movie to watch. Alright. It happens. Since we can't come to a mutual consensus, I will make the choice-"

"Don't tell me," interrupted Ochako. "You want to watch that comedy film with what's-his-name."

"Kenneth Johns. And...yeah, pretty much."

"I'm fine with whatever movie you guys want..." Shoto said quietly and coolly.

Yui simply nodded in agreement while Momo added, "I agree with Todoroki. But if you guys are going to remain steadfast in your picks, I suggest we bring in a neutral third-party who'll decide the movie for us."

"That sounds like a good idea, Yaomomo!" Ochako exclaimed. Then, her eyes lit up even more. "And I nominate..." With a dramatic gusto, she pointed at the end of the table. "Midoriya!"

Izuku's head shot up; he hadn't been listening in on the conversation.

"H-Huh?!" The green-haired boy looked around frantically. "Wh-What? Wh-What'd I get voted for?"

"We're going to watch a movie at the theater," Momo explained. "We want you to pick what movie we should watch."

Izuku was left flabbergasted. _"WHAT?! Me?! They want _me _to pick a movie for _them_?!"_ He scanned every last schoolmate in turn, and they were all looking at him expectantly and without judgment. _"This...This can't be happening, right? And I thought they had already forgotten about me..."_

_**"You're not allowed to come back here until you find something productive to do at school, Midoriya. I don't care what it is, as long as you make friends and enjoy life beyond the pleasures of manga."**_

_"Well, I guess this is my next step. Maybe this will work out better than the study group..."_ He stared at the others and noticed their excitement and their smiles._ "At least they want me to be involved..."_

Izuku realized he was opening his mouth, and a thought was being channeled into his vocal cords, which were ready to express that thought. It was now or never.

_"Here goes..."_

He said without regrets, "I want to watch the new _Our Hero Academia_ movie."

...

...

...

...

...

_"Well, it was fun while it lasted."_

* * *

**A/N:** Hey there, everyone! I hope I didn't lose any of you while I was working on the newest chapters! I decided to post this chapter a little earlier than I expected because this marks the one-month anniversary of the publication of this story, believe it or not. While not exactly the most memorable anniversary, I still decided to honor it because I feel the fandom has been pretty receptive of me so far and I just wanted to thank all of the people who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. Your support means a lot to me, like, you have no idea. :D

Anyway, enough talking. I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:

**-Whitetiger789:** What makes you say that?

**-Tohsaka143:**

**1)** Okay, thanks for explaining that to me.

**2)** Next time, could you also state your thoughts for this specific chapter? Every time you write a review, I'm really going to need you to post your thoughts and opinions on the chapter you're currently reviewing. Please. I would like as much feedback as possible.

**-2010si:** Sorry, but what do you mean by "the other 30 follow you"?

**-zorack93:** I know, sadistic, right? Jokes aside, that's not going to last forever. Trust me, IzuMina and Kacchako are the definite endgame and you will see how these couples will settle into their assigned roles as the story goes along. ;) Plus, I happen to be a proud multishipper who also supports IzuOcha, among other things, so I couldn't resist putting in some little IzuOcha hints in the meantime.

**-Guest reviewer:** Well, this _is_ an AU. Characterization can get a little more flexible. But don't you worry. If you read the Author's Note at the beginning of the chapter, you will know that I am aware of the OOCness and this is not going to be a permanent thing with this fic. I'm sorry if this is not to your liking so far, though.

**-AllAcid (guest reviewer):** Would you mind explaining why? I would like more details.

**-Dracus6:** No. Just..._no_...

Well, hope you enjoyed this early chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	5. First Impressions

**A/N:** I have decided to re-post the disclaimer from the last chapter, just to make sure everyone stays reminded on what to expect from this chapter.

There WILL be OOC behavior on the part of some major characters for the first few chapters, such as this one. This isn't an oversight or a sign of my ineffectiveness, but an intentional choice and a rather vital part of their story arcs in this AU fic. Things **WILL** get better as we go along, I promise, but for now, you'll just have to bear with it in the meantime. Yes, I know it's a bit painful. Trust me, it gets grating sometimes for me as well. But I'm just a big fan of taking stories a little slowly in terms of pacing and devoting time to exploring characters, even if they're radically changed at certain points.

I assure you, I know what I'm doing, even with the jarringly OOC stuff, and the rest of the story will gradually make up for it. Everyone will become the characters you all know and love. I really wish I could prove how seriously I take these characters, and how much I actually want them to be accurate, by writing a non-AU fic already. Unfortunately, I'm just so swamped with school and work at the moment, not to mention I'm still trying to figure out a solid plot.

But fortunately, people don't have any reason to worry any longer! The next chapter is definitely where the real meat of the story begins! And that means we'll be seeing some great character development! :D

**P.S.:** Today's the big day! "Avengers: Endgame" is officially released to theaters around the U.S.! For those of you who got tickets to see the big premiere, HAVE FUN! I'm sure it'll be the greatest ride ever! And please, no spoilers! I plan on watching the movie tomorrow with my brother and my cousins, so I don't want any killjoys running over my fun.

* * *

"Wait..." Hiryu replied, his mind trying to process the newest information. "_What_?"

Izuku stared at the others fearfully, and his body started quaking with mounting anxiety. Most of the others were just as confused as Hiryu. However, Tenya, Momo, and Mezo seemed to know what he was talking about. The former two were giving him unhappy, disapproving looks, while Mezo simply looked puzzled by the abrupt suggestion. Only two people did not have any discernible reaction to the suggestion: Shoto and Yui.

"_Our Hero Academia_..." Ochako repeated. "What's that, Midoriya? I don't think I've heard of that movie-"

"It's the kind of manga Midoriya reads in class," interrupted Tenya, his tone stern and denigrating. "Apparently, he thinks it's more important than his academics. Aizawa-sensei is at his wit's end trying to get him to focus."

"Well, with a school like ours," Tsuyu replied, "I can't say I blame him."

Izuku stared at the green-haired girl with awe and a little relief. _"Whoa!"_ he thought. _"Asui doesn't judge me for reading manga?! I...I thought she'd make fun of me and say something that'd crush my soul, like she always does to people!"_

Meanwhile, Ochako seemed to be enlightened by Tenya's brief explanation. "So it's a manga, huh?" she asked. "Ah, I see now!" She glanced towards Izuku, her bright smile still in place. "So _My Hero Academia_ is the kind of stuff that you want to write one day, right Midoriya?"

"Y-Ye-Yeah..." Izuku responded, remembering his little fib about him wanting to become a mangaka when he graduated. "A-And it's _Our Hero Academia_..."

"The kind stuff that you want to write one day?" repeated a puzzled Tenya.

"Oh, that's right!" Ochako clapped her hands together with delight and looked at the class representative. "Midoriya told me he wants to become a mangaka when he gets out of school!"

Tenya looked at Izuku again. "Really now...?"

"So you want to be a mangaka, huh?" Hiryu asked. Then, to Izuku's surprise, the exchange student smiled slightly. "That sounds impressive."

"So you're an otaku, Minoriya?" asked Tsuyu.

"It's Midoriya, Rin," corrected Mezo.

"Oh, right. Midoriya."

Beads of sweat started to form on the freckled boy's forehead. Upon noticing this, Tsuyu gave him a smile, the warm and motherly glow of her face refusing to falter for a second.

"It's not like I think being an otaku is weird or not, Midoriya. If you like manga so much that you want to be a mangaka, then I'd normally think you're an otaku. I mean, those kinds of people are usually otaku. Well-educated otaku, yes, but otaku nonetheless. Anyway, the reason I'm asking is because I'm wondering if you're a member of Hatsume's club."

"H-Ha-Hat-Hatsume's cl-cl-club?" stuttered Izuku nervously. "Y-You mean the M-M-Manga & An-Anime Cl-Club?"

"Yes, that's the name," Momo replied. "We're trying to reach out to them."

"Bakugo picks on them every other day," Rikido explained, "and it looks like they'll need more friends to help them out."

"So are you a member?" Tsuyu asked.

Izuku rejoiced at the explanation. _"They don't think it's weird, being an otaku?!"_ he thought. _"This...This is so cool! I...I can't believe I didn't think about befriending them in the first place!"_

But before he could respond to Tsuyu's question, he heard Tenya scoff disparagingly.

"You guys want that madwoman of an otaku to be in our ranks?" he asked, his voice tinged with a little disbelief. "Over my dead body."

"Ah, who cares if she's an otaku, Iida?" Ochako suddenly asked, pouting. "You make it sound like that's supposed to be a bad thing."

"I wasn't trying to. I like manga and anime too. I think those are great hallmarks of Japanese culture. But those guys are always off in their corners, obsessing over it too much. Unhealthy interests like that are always stuff to watch out for."

Ochako pouted at the class representative. "You're just saying that because Hatsume swindled you out of a samurai suit your brother bought for you. You need to get over it, Iida!"

"Yeah," added Hiryu. "She _did_ give it back to you a week later, after all."

"But not before she completely defaced it and degraded its historical value!" Tenya replied angrily. "But that's beside the point! Uraraka, those people don't take reality too seriously! All of otaku culture is that way! They're way too wrapped up in fictional worlds to acknowledge any degree of importance to the world that they're currently living in! They're one step away from going insane! That is why I try to distance myself from the likes of them!"

"Nah, you just get _triggered_ at the sight of them..." Ochako said teasingly.

"It matters not! This is why I was so reluctant to include Midoriya in our study group! And it appears my fears have been proven correct!"

_"_That's_ why Iida doesn't like my manga?"_ Izuku thought with surprise. _"Because of a bad encounter with Mei Hatsume? ...Well, I can't really blame him. She's quite a character. ...But I thought it was because I was so distracted by reading manga that I never had the time to focus on my studies?"_

Meanwhile, Ochako blinked with disbelief. "So you won't hang out with him because he might go cuckoo? Or because he has the same passion as Hatsume? Come _on_, Iida! Do you have any idea how _petty_ that sounds?!"

"Yes, but-" began Tenya.

"Uraraka's right, Iida," Itsuka interrupted. Everyone turned their heads towards the redheaded girl, whose teal eyes were brimming with energy. "You were the one who said we should befriend people who Bakugo and his friends considered to be different, so they never feel alone or defenseless ever again. Take Komori, for example." Kinoko let out a high-pitched squeak at the mention of her name. "She likes idols, yet you never judged her for it when Ashido and Tokage did.

"But now you're gonna ostracize Midoriya all because he likes to read manga? In spite of everything you said? So what?! If Midoriya really _is_ too wrapped up in the stuff that he reads, then it's our shared responsibility to snap him out of it in the nicest way possible!"

"Yeah, that's true," Hiryu remarked, nodding his head with agreement.

"But to be perfectly honest, I doubt he's too absorbed because he consciously made the effort to come here and join our study group. He didn't have to. He could've just turned down Uraraka when she offered it to him. But he accepted it. And that tells me he's as ordinary as manga readers can get. I don't even see a single manga volume anywhere near him!"

_"Oh, if only you knew, Kendo..."_ Izuku thought guiltily.

Itsuka continued passionately, "And since Midoriya chose to make that effort and accept the same kind of friendship and hospitality you'd willingly give to others, it's only fair that you, and the rest of us, accept his own extension of friendship and hospitality. And we do this by watching the movie he wants to watch."

"I agree!" Ochako replied. "Let's be nice to Midoriya and watch his movie together, Iida! I mean, it can't be _that bad_, can it?!"

"Yeah, why not?" Rikido asked, shrugging his shoulders and grinning. "I mean, the guy laughed at my math joke anyway. Even if the movie's terrible, I'm still gonna find some way to enjoy it."

"That's 'cause you _always_ love terrible movies," Mezo replied deprecatingly.

"Now that hurts, man."

Mezo ignored him and said, "I'm in. I _did_ hear snippets of what this manga is about and it sounds like I won't be falling asleep during the movie, anyway."

Though he said that, Izuku looked at Mezo and saw a glimmer with legitimate interest flashing across his eyes.

"I think I'll give it a look-see too," Hiryu added. "There's no need to be a killjoy about it, Iida."

"I-I-I-I'm in t-t-t-too!" stuttered Kinoko. Her teeth chattered against each other intensely as she lowered her voice. "A-A-As long as th-th-there are pr-pr-pretty g-g-girls i-i-in th-th-there..."

"I guess that means I'm in as well," Tsuyu said nonchalantly.

"I guess we're already getting a majority vote," Itsuka replied. Then, she looked at Shoto, and Izuku noticed a slight but passionate blush forming on her cheeks. "What about you, Todoroki? You wanna watch the movie?"

"Might as well," the redhead replied distantly, nonchalantly. "I see no reason to pick apart your speech anyway, since it's already so good and there's nothing to contest about it."

Itsuka's blush brightened a little, and now, Momo noticed it as well. Izuku watched as the class vice-representative took a deep breath and looked away, her shimmering eyes attempting to mask anguish.

"I guess I'll have to go as well," the wealthy student remarked with a strangely stiff voice. "After all, I need to make sure everyone's exercising their best conduct in the theater. We can't afford to inconvenience the other attendants, after all..."

"HOORAY!" cheered Ochako. Then, she looked at Himiko, who was giggling quietly at the screen of her cellphone. "Toga, we're watching a movie."

Himiko didn't lift her head from her cellphone. Either she didn't hear her friend, or she did and simply didn't care. Either way, Ochako grumbled with annoyance.

"_Toga_," she said, putting more emphasis in her voice, "we're watching a movie."

"I don't caaaaare, Uraraaaaakaaaaa..." the dirty-blonde whined. "I'm following my dearest Bakugooooo..."

Ochako sighed, while Momo and Itsuka shook their heads. However, Tsuyu had an idea.

"Hey, Toga," she said, "I wonder what Bakugo would think of you if he realized you're not having fun with your friends..." Himiko's head perked up slightly with alarm, prompting the green-haired girl to continue. "You know, I heard him talking to his friends yesterday. He said he doesn't like girls who slack around and are slaves to social media. He likes girls who are active and outgoing-"

Himiko shot up from her chair, her face giddy once again. "I'M ACTIVE AND OUTGOING! I WANNA OUTGO! LET'S GO! W-WHAT ARE WE DOING?!"

"Watching a movie."

"I wanna watch a movie! I wanna watch!"

_"Wow..."_ Izuku thought with surprise. _"This girl's really obsessed with Bakugo...and to think she's surrounded by people who don't like him at all..."_

Meanwhile, now that Himiko's approval had been guaranteed, Ochako looked at Yui, who was simply idling at the corner.

"I know Yui-chan wants to go!" she said energetically. This earned her a mere stiff nod from her cousin. "Alrighty! And as for Iida..." The chestnut-haired girl looked at her peer. "What do you say?" Then, she gave him a cheeky smile. "But you know you're outnumbered, though, so you might as well try out the movie!"

"I do not appreciate your attempt at peer pressure, Uraraka," Tenya replied. "I will not stand for it."

"Excuse me, but who's the one who apologized to Midoriya for doubting him?" Ochako crossed her arms and stuck out her chin a little. "You even bowed your head and everything. You never do that unless you're being super-serious about something. Don't tell me you're taking back what you said, Iida! I thought your family never backtracks on anything?"

"No, but-"

"There's no buts about it, Iida! You need to give Midoriya a chance! It's just like Kendo said, he went all this way to try and be friendly to us, and we need to show him his efforts mattered! Now you may not be a big fan of what Izuku likes, and for personal reasons, but that should be no excuse to distance yourself from him!"

Tenya blinked at Ochako, processing her words. Then, he looked up at Izuku, who chuckled and smiled nervously at him. Then, after a minute or so, the class representative sighed and bowed his head.

"Very well," he said. "I will try this movie of yours, Midoriya. I apologize for continuing to maintain a low opinion of you. It was an insensitive decision on my part, and I promise that I'll henceforth be more friendly and receptive towards you." Then, he raised it and gave Izuku a hard stare. "But know this: I will always find manga and anime to be a bad influence on the minds of people. That opinion will not change. This will be the only time I will take you up on an offer like that. Do you understand, Midoriya?"

Izuku's skin crawled at the sharp, piercing gaze the disciplined class representative gave him. At that moment, he felt as if an invisible barrier had sprung up between them, expressly forbidding them from establishing a mutual understanding about manga. No matter what he tried to do, no matter how much he would try to sugarcoat it, Izuku knew Tenya Iida had made up his mind about the things that made him happy.

Nevertheless, the green-haired boy nodded slowly.

"I understand, Iida..." he said. Then, he thought privately, _"At least we're getting somewhere. At least he's not shooting me down again..."_

"ALRIGHT!" Ochako shouted, hopping up and down with delight. "Now that Iida's in, it's movie time, everyone!"

"Settle down, Uraraka," Momo replied as she moved towards the doorway. "There's no need to be in a rush." She opened the door and was greeted by a maid. "Shimizu, where's my mother?"

"In the study," the maid replied. "I assume you and your fine friends are going to town?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Very well. I'll inform her of your departure."

Momo bowed. "Thank you very much, Shimizu."

"Uh," a befuddled Izuku piped up, "why don't you just tell her your- Mmph!"

Ochako had covered his mouth, placed her index finger over her lips, and shook her head softly.

_"Well, that was weird..."_ he thought. Then, he stared at his crush as she smiled brightly at him, and he had to turn away to hide his blush. _"But at least I've got Uraraka to willingly stand up for me! And she doesn't think I'm weird at all! Or my hobbies! I'm...I'm so, so happy!"_

With that, he followed the others out of the room, a skip present in his step.

* * *

A dot in a sea of dots. That was normally what Izuku would feel like right now.

But now, the freckled boy no longer felt like a meaningless dot. Now, he was a member of a group that was totally willing to accept him for who he was. And to make matters even better for him, another member of said group was his longtime crush! He really wanted to believe this was too good to be true, but he thought that thought too many times already and was proven wrong at every step of the way.

_"This is real,"_ Izuku thought with bursting exhilaration, as he stared into the backs of Momo, Tsuyu, Shoto, and Rikido. _"I found people who want to be my friends, who want to try out the movies I suggest! Ohhh, if only Shimura-san were here to see this..."_

"Hey, Midoriya?"

Izuku's skin crawled at the sound of Ochako's sweet voice. "Y-Y-Ye-Yeah, U-Ura-ra-raka?" he stuttered.

"Jeez, you must be excited for this movie if you're so nervous!"

"W-We-Well, o-of course! I...I always watch the anime adaptation of _Our Hero Academia_ from my home. So seeing all of my heroes on the big screen is going to be a completely different experience for me..."

"But I'm sure it's an experience you're happy to have, all the same!"

"Yeah..." Izuku's lip trembled a little. "And I get to share it with you..." Suddenly, he blushed brightly and quickly added, "A-And y-y-your f-fr-friends too, o-of course! Y-Yeah, don't wanna leave out Iida and everyone else!"

"Aw, thank you, Midoriya! I'm so glad I experience this with you as well!"

_"Ohhhhh, Uraraka... You have no idea how angelic your words are right now!"_

Just then, Ochako whispered, "And I'm really glad you didn't leave back there."

Izuku looked at her, puzzled. "Huh?"

"Earlier, when you told us your mom had an errand for you to do...I knew that was a lie..." The girl stared at him gently and deeply, and with sympathy. "You felt left out and wanted to leave because of it, didn't you? And don't come up with an excuse this time, Midoriya. I know a lie when I hear one."

"I... I-I..." Izuku gulped uncomfortably. "I..."

Ochako smiled softly and shook her head. "It's okay, Midoriya. You don't have to say anything if you're uncomfortable. I just wanted to let you know that I understand." She then stared at the rest of the group as they conversed. "I didn't tell you this, but I started out in the same position as you. I had no friends besides Yui, but I couldn't really count her since she's not much of a talker."

"You...You didn't have any friends at first?" the green-haired boy asked, startled. "Ho-_How_?" He imagined the warm and bubbly smile she always gave to people. "Y-Y-You're the fr-friendliest a-and m-most approachable person ever!"

"That was built up through a whole semester of spending time with friends." Ochako stared at Iida as he talked to Hiryu about Japanese history. "Especially Iida."

"Iida?"

"Mm-hm. He was the one who introduced me to Yaomomo, Kendo, and the others. He's like what I am to you right now: someone who helps you get the hang of socializing with others. So, I must apologize to you for his behavior. He's usually not like this, but he can take things too seriously and get hung up on the most petty stuff."

"Well, he's got a point..." Izuku gazed at the ground forlornly. "I've never cared too much about school. All I want to do is read manga and..." His voice trailed off a little, before he uttered in an improvisational blurt, "And work on becoming a mangaka. In a sense...he's right when he says I don't take reality too seriously..."

Ochako looked at him. "But you love manga and want to pursue that as a job, right? So how's aspiring for that not taking reality seriously?"

_"That's because I actually don't want to become a mangaka, Uraraka,"_ Izuku thought in response. _"The only real goal I have is becoming a superhero like the stuff I see in _Our Hero Academia_. Now _that _is not taking reality seriously..."_

"Though now that you mention it," the girl continued, "you said you'd rather read manga than devote yourself to school. I can see why Iida would be so concerned about that."

"That's kinda my point." Izuku sighed. "I guess that's why I have difficulties relating to other people. I find people more interesting if they come from my computer screen, or the panels of a manga." Then, he started to panic. "N-No-Not that I th-th-think y-you're not i-in-interesting, Uraraka! I-I r-r-really app-appreciate y-your-"

"_Relax_, Midoriya." Ochako giggled. "Jeez, you apologize too much! I'm just very glad you're being honest with me! That's all that I want out of you. Honesty..." She looked up at the sky, hope gleaming in her wide brown eyes. "Honesty is really important to me. The more people lie, the less people will truly trust one another. True friendship is built on honesty. And I'm glad you're being forthcoming with me." She looked back at him. "It shows me that you really want to be my friend."

Izuku pursed his lips sadly, but he then forced a smile onto his face. "Well, of course. I _want_ to be your friend. For a long time, that's all that I ever wanted."

Ochako blinked twice. "For a long time...all that you ever wanted?"

"AGH! I-I-Is that w-wh-what I s-s-said?!"

"Uh-huh. Pretty much." But the chestnut-haired girl smiled yet again. "Don't worry, I'm not creeped out or anything."

"We-Well...I...I always saw how friendly you were to other people... You never judged anyone... I...I really admired that. A-And I wanted to be your friend, b-but I was afraid y-you wouldn't understand my hobby. So...th-that's why I just kept my distance..."

"Well, you never know until you try. And guess what? You tried, and I don't mind your hobby at all!" She clapped him on the shoulder. "See, you can only get somewhere in life if you just try it out first! Isn't that right?!"

"I...I guess so..." Izuku smiled softly but with excitement. "I'm...I'm really glad I took you up on your offer, Uraraka." He looked up at the rest of the group. "It's been a rough start so far, but everyone has been so nice. They even want to see the movie I want to see. I...I just can't believe I'm in the company of such great and understanding people... Sometimes I wonder if this is just a dream. I mean, this is just too good to be true- OW!"

Ochako had just pinched his cheek. "Did you feel that?"

The freckled boy clutched his skin. "Yeah! What was that for, Uraraka?!"

"Hey, if you felt it, that means it's not a dream. This is all real." Ochako wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, while she raised her other arm in the air with a toothy smile. "And we're friends! So you should just let all of your worries go and celebrate like there's no tomorrow, Midoriya!"

"Y-Yeah... L-Let's ce-celebrate..."

However, Izuku was blushing intensely at how close he was to his crush.

"And we can do that by watching your movie!"

"Y-Yeah! We-We can do that!"

"Hey," another voice said beside Izuku. The green-haired boy nearly fell over into Ochako with surprise, but he saw that the new speaker was Yui. Once again, she was giving him a neutral expression.

"K-K-_Kodai_?!" stuttered Izuku.

"Yui!" Ochako said. "What'd I tell you about surprising people like that?"

"Sorry," Yui replied with a monotone voice. "I was going to say we've arrived."

Izuku looked ahead and saw the rest of the group gathered around one of many entryways into the local shopping mall. At the corner of that entryway was the theater. There were a number of film posters lining the walls, boasting the movies that were being shown inside. People were streaming in and out of the entrance, chatting zestfully with excitement and anticipation. Overhead, there was a bright neon sign reading 'KIYASHI THEATER'.

"Alright!" Ochako cheered. "It's movie time! Yaomomo, do you have enough money to buy all of us tickets?"

"Of course," Momo replied. The class vice-representative reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a brand-new leather wallet that was so shiny that it made Izuku's eyes hurt.

"Of _course_ Yaomomo's gonna be the one to pay for all of us," remarked Rikido.

"Well, _yeah_," Hiryu replied, smirking. "In case you didn't notice, she's loaded."

"I was only speaking hypothetically, Rin."

"So, Midoriya," Momo said as she pulled out some yen from the wallet and began counting it, "what is the movie called again?"

"_Our Hero Academia: Duo of Heroes_," Izuku replied, his voice shaky from sharing this kind of information with the class vice-representative.

Momo nodded before approaching the ticket booth with the appropriate amount of yen. She prepared to hand it over to the employee when she froze, and her face contorted into an expression of disgust.

"Well, well, well," a voice drawled, "if it isn't Yaoyorozu."

Recognizing the voice as well, Ochako and Tenya both frowned at the booth. Izuku followed their stares and felt his heart stop upon seeing who was working in there.

"What're _you_ doing here, Kaminari?" Ochako asked.

Denki flashed a roguish grin at her. "Ah, good to see you guys too," he said as he straightened his bow-tie. "I see you're all doing well..."

The blond womanizer started scanning each of the girls from head to toe, with the exceptions of Himiko and Kinoko. And as he did, Izuku felt his stomach tie itself into knots at the sight of Denki's eyes, which were gleaming with a sickeningly lecherous aura. The green-haired boy looked sideways at Ochako and saw how unsettled she was in his presence.

"I'm glad to know you're employed and seem to be taking your occupation seriously, Kaminari," Tenya replied, though his voice indicated nothing but evident disapproval on his part. "But the looks you're giving to your female peers right now is nothing short of disgraceful to your employer. You're not going to gain any respect from your customers or coworkers in this way, so I suggest you-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it, _Dad_," Denki interrupted once he was done scanning Momo for the second or third time. Then, he spotted Izuku and blinked with surprise. "Huh? What's the otaku doing here?"

"We're here to watch his movie, Kaminari," Itsuka replied defensively. "Just give us our tickets and we'll be on our way."

Denki complied, taking the yen from Momo's cautious hand and giving her the allocated number of tickets. However, he was still befuddled by the revelation.

"_Really_? So he's _with_ you guys?"

"Yes. Does that mean you and your friends will do the right thing and leave him alone?"

"Eh, it depends. Either way, he's still Bakugo's lame punching bag..." The blond gave Izuku a nasty grin. "I'd watch your backs if I were you. I bet he's making you guys watch something dumb. Even by your standards, guys, this is a new low. Now his dorkiness is gonna rub off on ya-"

"Well, it can't get any worse than _your_ dorkiness, Kaminari," Rikido interrupted, smirking triumphantly as he took a ticket from Momo's hand.

Denki shot him a suspicious glare. "And what the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"We all saw Jiro's YouTube video, _Jamming-Yay_." Denki blushed brightly and started to sputter like a failing engine, which provoked a loud, amused laugh from Rikido. "Good day to you, and watch out for falling baseballs!"

Denki growled vengefully at Rikido's insult before looking at Mezo. "Yo, Shoji," he growled. "This movie had better not be long. We've got a game later today and Shinso's just come down with another sickness. Bakugo will be on your ass if you ain't there."

"Uh-huh, yeah..." Mezo replied in a noncommittal tone as he took his own ticket. "OOF!"

Himiko had just pushed Mezo aside and ran up to the ticket booth. Her face was as red as a cherry and her catlike eyes were gleaming with pure excitement.

"Hey, hey, you're Kaminari, right?!" she cried, barely able to contain her giddiness. "Bakugo's friend?!"

"Y-Yeah..." Denki replied. "Wh-Who's asking...?"

"Tell my dearest Bakugo that Toga sends him all of her love!" The ashy-blonde girl started swaying from side to side like a cobra dancing to a snake charmer. "And that she's waiting for him to schedule their next date! Hee-hee-hee..."

"Toga... Wait, _Toga_?" The boy's eyes widened with terror, and he muttered, "Oh, shit..."

Himiko looked at him with a sickeningly adorable expression. "What was that?"

"I'll-I'll be sure t-to do that!" Denki tried to give her one of his charming smiles, but Izuku could see how painfully forced it was. "D-Don't worry, y-you can c-count on me, T-T-Toga..."

"YAY! Ohhhhh, thank you _so much_, Kaminari!" Himiko leaned forward to give the boy a hug, but wound up bumping into the plastic barrier that separated him from his customers. "Ohhhhh, I just wanna hug you!"

Denki looked mortified beyond belief at that prospect. "That...That won't be necessary..."

The group walked away from the ticket booth, with Momo passing the tickets to the others and Himiko skipping along the way. On instinct, Izuku gazed over his shoulder at Denki. The blond boy, once smug and confident in his taunts, was now seething in a mixture of embarrassment and terror, which left the next customers in line confused and a little nervous.

"You alright, Midoriya?" Ochako asked, catching the boy's attention.

"Y-Yeah..." Izuku chuckled with disbelief and scratched his cheek. "I...I just can't believe I got out of that intact. E-Every time I come across Kacc- er, Bakugo or one of his friends, I always have a couple of bruises. I've...I've never had anyone come to my defense before..."

"Well, that's about to change! I told you, Midoriya, we're not like Bakugo and his friends. And I promise, if you have any problems with them, we'll be there to protect you!"

Izuku looked at Ochako, and she stared back at him with her bright, friendly grin. The sight of it made his heart flutter.

"Th-Th-Thank you, U-Ur-Uraraka..."

"You're welcome!" Then, as she turned her head away from him, Ochako spotted several colorful posters lining the wall and gasped. "Ooh, look! Is _that_ the movie were gonna be watching, Midoriya?!"

"H-Huh?"

Izuku followed his crush's gaze and spotted the poster in question as well. It was the most colorful of the bunch, filled to the brim with the dazzling blues and yellows of the sunrise-marked horizon in the background, and the sea of grays and silvers that greatly highlighted the urban landscape taking up the foreground. And, in front and center, were some of the many heroes of the movie, most especially Mikumo Akatani, who was in one of his heroic poses.

_"I can't believe I'm gonna be watching that movie in a few minutes!"_ Izuku thought. _"And with some new friends! Oh, if only Shimura-san were here to see this... Not to mention I'm actually watching a movie...based on _his _work..."_

_**"You're not allowed to come back here until you find something productive to do at school, Midoriya. I don't care what it is, as long as you make friends and enjoy life beyond the pleasures of manga."**_

_"I wonder how Shimura-san would react if he realized that I found a small workaround to his instructions..."_

"Wait a minute, is this supposed to be superhero-themed?" Rikido asked, as he and the others congregated around the poster as well.

"W-Well..._yeah_..." Izuku replied hesitantly.

"Holy crap, no way!" The large, muscular boy jabbed a thumb at his chest. "I'm a _big_ fan of Paragon Comics, and I think their cinematic universe is one of the greatest things in existence! And I can't wait for the new Ultimates movie!"

"Whoa, _really_?!" Izuku's green eyes widened with excitement. "I...I didn't know you were a fan of superheroes, Sato!"

"Well, of course! Paragon movies are so action-packed but also so lighthearted! I think I can attribute my sense of humor to those movies!"

"Huh," Tsuyu replied. "No wonder your jokes sound like they were plucked out of memes. 'Cause they _are_."

Rikido started laughing. "I'm gonna take that as a compliment, Asui!"

"Alright, everyone!" Tenya called, attracting the attention of everyone else. He was standing at the entrance of one of the theater rooms as people were passing by him. "I know this poster looks astounding, but the movie is about to start in a few minutes and we have a responsibility as moviegoers to be punctual! So, out of deep and utmost respect for all of the people who worked on this film, I suggest we not dawdle for any longer!"

"Says the person who didn't want to see this movie in the first place," Itsuka responded flatly.

"Perhaps you changed your mind about it...?" added Hiryu.

Tenya nearly fell over in embarrassment. "Ack! I just _said_ I have a deep respect for the people who produced this work, and I believe it should be our duty to see the fruits of their labor in all of its totality! This isn't out of legitimate curiosity of its source material or anything like that!"

"Uh-huh..." Ochako replied. "_Sure_..."

Everyone proceeded to follow Tenya into the theater room, but Izuku remained behind for a few moments. He wanted to see if this group of newfound friends was entirely willing to go inside and see the movie on their own accord, and not just because they felt like they had an obligation to welcome him into their fold.

After all, no matter how excited he was, and no matter how much reassurance he got from Ochako...this all still seemed too good to be true for him...

"Hey, Midoriya!"

Izuku was snapped out of his musings by Ochako, who was standing at the doorway of the theater room, waving at him and smiling widely. Tenya and (Izuku had forgotten about her yet again) Yui were standing beside her. The former looked slightly impatient but otherwise just as willing to acquiesce to the requested movie, while the latter looked monotone as usual.

"Are you coming in or what?!" Ochako called.

_"Calm down, Izuku. This is real. Uraraka told you so. I should let all of my worries go and celebrate this new friendship!"_

He replied, "I'm coming!"

With that, he joined Ochako, Tenya, and Yui; and the quartet proceeded into the theater room together.

_"Don't worry about a thing, Izuku,"_ he thought, smiling from ear to ear. _"After all, you wanted to see this movie for the longest time, and now you have friends who want to experience it with you! What could possibly go wrong?!"_

* * *

Izuku munched happily on his popcorn as his green eyes remained glued to the theater screen. Right now, the film was in the middle of an action sequence, with Mikumo and all of his friends, old and new, facing off against a horde of Villains that had taken over C-City. And as he continued to eat, he took quick glances at Ochako and her group of friends as they too watched the movie, and for the most part, it looked like a success, surprisingly.

Ochako seemed to be the most eager out of everyone. Her brown eyes gleamed as she watched one of the main female protagonists, Yuu, also known as Mt. Lady, use her Gigantification Quirk to gain the upper hand against her foes. All the while, she would shout words of support and encouragement to Mikumo. The chestnut-haired girl listened to every word of dialogue that was spoken and munched on her popcorn just as enthusiastically as Izuku.

Yui didn't look as interested, by far, but then again, she always looked uninterested. Therefore, Izuku couldn't tell if this was her legitimate reaction to the film. The same went with Shoto, who looked just as indifferent. In fact, Izuku noticed his eyes were in a perpetual state of emptiness, as if he constantly had something else on his mind and he was actually not paying attention to the movie at all.

Tsuyu appeared to be indifferent for most of the film, but her eyebrows would always be raised whenever Froppy would show up and use his frog-themed powers to restrain enemies, swim through pools of water, and stick onto surfaces. The same went with Mezo, who never exhibited any outward reaction to the film, sans some energetic blinking whenever the mutant student Tentacole filled up the screen and showed off his Quirk.

Momo started off being dismissive of the movie, spending her time sipping out of her cup of water and eating individual kernels of popcorn, as if eating more at once would instantly fatten her up. But when Creati got her first chance to shine, the class vice-representative's attention was finally piqued, and she started following that character's story arc ever since then. In contrast, Itsuka was instantly enthralled by the film's visuals and had been constantly and surreptitiously egging on Momo to enjoy it more.

Rikido definitely trailed behind Ochako in terms of enthusiasm for the film. He would cheer and laugh quietly but jovially every time an action sequence occurred and boasted the film's fluid animation. Oftentimes, this would attract unwanted attention from the people sitting around him; they would always shoot him looks of irritation and attempt to shush him as politely as they could.

Hiryu and Kinoko also looked like they were enjoying themselves. They would smile whenever the heroes would show up and triumph over the obstacles in their way. Also, they would always join the rest of the audience whenever they laughed to something funny.

For once, Himiko's mind was no longer on Katsuki, and she was devoting all of her attention to the movie. It didn't really surprise Izuku, though, since one of the protagonists was a Hero-in-training called Ground Zero, who (Izuku realized this for the first time) was a doppelganger of Katsuki...except that he was much kinder and gentler, if not a little too honest for his own good.

And finally, there was Tenya. He was staring at the theater screen with narrowed eyes, as if he was judging every scene of the movie from a critical lens, all the way to the last detail. The lenses of his glasses were constantly shining from the light coming from the massive screen and the darkened theater room, preventing Izuku from getting a good read of the class representative's blue eyes.

_"Oh, who am I kidding?"_ Izuku thought glumly. _"Iida probably _is _judging the movie already. He could probably write an entire essay poking holes in the plot and tearing this entire movie to shreds! He probably started hating it after the five-minute mark! Why am I expecting any other reaction from him...?"_ Then, the green-haired boy scanned the rest of his newfound friends. _"Well, at least everyone else looks like they're having a blast...except for Kodai and Todoroki, that is."_

He looked back at the screen and felt his heart throb with joy at the sight of Mikumo using his Super Move on a Villain.

_"And at least_ I'm _having a blast with them! I can't raise my expectations too high. This is good for now! It's a good first step! Yeah, a good first step indeed..."_

The alleyway and the mysterious girl returned to Izuku's mind again, for a split-second, but he suppressed the thought with all of his willpower...and forced a smile.

* * *

"Wow, I liked that movie!" Ochako exclaimed as she and the others reentered the lobby.

"You did?!" asked Izuku.

"Well, of course, Midoriya! I like a good action movie every now and then, and your movie delivered all the goods!" In an action that almost seemed adorable, Ochako made some light punches in the air as she spoke. "Oh, and I especially liked that Yuu girl! She kicked some serious butt!" Then, she looked at Yui, who was taking a last sip of her soft drink. "What'd you think, Yui?! Did you have fun or what?!"

"I liked it," Yui replied in her usual robotic voice, once she was finished with her sip.

"It was alright," Tsuyu remarked. "I wish some of the characters had more screentime, though."

"Yeah," added Mezo. "I feel the usual roster is bigger than those half-dozen students or so, but all the remaining people had to be shafted to make room for those main characters."

"I'm-I'm sorry you think that way," Izuku replied, taken aback by the criticism. "I-I-If you guys are in-interested, th-the manga a-and anime juggle the m-m-main cast a wh-whole lot b-b-better-"

"We didn't say the movie was terrible, though." Mezo walked up to the smaller boy and patted his shoulder softly. "Relax, Midoriya. Aside from what I just said, I think the movie was good."

"O-Oh!" Izuku's green eyes glowed with happiness. "I'm...I'm so glad you think that way, Shoji!"

"Well, I for one thought the movie was fantastic!" exclaimed Itsuka. "The animation was so fluid! The studio that worked on it should give itself a pat in the back for making such cool sequences."

"Y-Yeah, I-I think so too! B-Bones has a good reputation for high-quality animation!"

"Bones?" Hiryu repeated. "What kind of name is that for an animation studio?"

"I JUST LOVE, LOVE, **LOVE** GROUND ZERO!" Himiko squealed loudly, her face so pink Izuku could've sworn she finished hyperventilating over nothing. "HE'S...HE'S LIKE BAKUGO'S **BROTHER**! WHEN I MEET UP WITH MY DARLING, I GOTTA DRESS HIM UP AND-AND MAKE HIM LOOK LIKE THAT HUNK!"

"Bakugo, as Ground Zero?" Tsuyu asked flatly. "He may have the looks, Toga, but he doesn't have the attitude of Ground Zero."

"Yeah," added Rikido. "Ground Zero is a _thousand_ times more the man Bakugo could ever hope to be."

Himiko giggled manically. "You all say that, but as long as _I'm_ around, my beloved Bakugo will have the best of manners! I will purify him even more, just like he purified me! After all, that's what star-crossed lovers do, am I right?!"

The ashy-blonde girl swayed again at the thought of Katsuki, leaving Izuku slightly unsettled. Meanwhile, Ochako spotted Tenya, who seemed to be texting someone, and approached him with a cheeky smile.

"Well, Iida?" the chestnut-haired girl asked. "What did you think of the film? I betcha it changed your mind about otaku culture at least a _little_."

"I thought it was average at best," the class representative replied, looking up from his phone screen.

"Oh..." Izuku replied. _"As I suspected, Iida didn't like the movie. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised-"_

Izuku's thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly felt a presence lurking beside him. He looked sideways and saw...

"AGH!" he squeaked, startled. "T-To-_Todoroki_?!"

"Don't worry about Iida," the redhead replied quietly, seemingly unaware of the surprise he subjected Izuku to. Instead, he maintained his focus on the class representative. "He enjoyed the movie."

Izuku's eyes broadened. "R-Re-_Really_? Ho-How'd you know th-_that_?"

Shoto's eyes turned to slits as he replied, "Intuition, I suppose..." He paused briefly. "I saw him paying particularly close attention to one of the characters. The one with the suit of metal armor."

"You mean Ingenium?" The green-haired boy blinked with surprise, his mind filling with memories of the unkempt, laid-back boy, definitely a far cry from the likes of Tenya. "Wow. I, uh, I never knew Iida saw something in _him_..." He looked up at Shoto. "Thanks for pointing that out, Todoroki. I thought it was gonna be difficult, becoming friends with Iida."

To his surprise, Shoto's only response was to give him a soft, noncommittal grunt. Once again, his eyes looked unfocused and glazed, and there seemed to be some sort of dark energy brewing behind his pupils.

_"That's weird,"_ Izuku thought. _"Todoroki's one of the smartest in my class, but he always looks so distant and distracted, like he's always got something else in his mind. Something that has nothing to do with the situation at hand. I...I wonder what it could be..."_

* * *

"See you later, Yaomomo!"

"Goodbye, Uraraka. Don't forget to continue studying."

"I won't, I won't. Hey, Midoriya! Midoriya!"

Izuku was snapped out of his trance by Ochako's voice. He found himself a few feet from the doorway of the cabin that stood guard in front of Momo's grand, expansive manor. He had his backpack on, and he could steel feel the combined weight of his textbooks and Yamikumo cosplay inside.

"Wh-What?" he asked, his panic quickly building. "W-Wh-What's happening?!"

"Say goodbye to Yaomomo, Midoriya!" Ochako replied. "Don't simply space out when you leave a friend's house!"

"O-Oh!" Izuku waved awkwardly at Momo, Itsuka, and Rikido, who were standing at the doorway. "B-Bye, Yaoyorozu! K-Kendo! S-Sa-Sato!"

"See ya later, Midoriya!" replied Rikido, waving energetically with a large, stocky arm.

"Hey, catch ya later at school!" added Itsuka. "Don't let Bakugo give you a hard time, 'kay?! You be strong!"

"S-S-Sure..." Izuku stuttered, before proceeding to walk away with Ochako and Yui by his sides.

Ever since the group returned to Momo's mansion, everyone decided to go their separate ways, now that the study group was officially over. Mezo was the first to depart, citing the upcoming baseball game with Katsuki and his cronies. He was immediately followed by none other than Himiko, who kept begging him to take her along and reintroduce her to Katsuki. This was followed by Tenya, Shoto, Hiryu, and Kinoko, who all needed to rest for the upcoming school week.

Now, it was just him with his crush. And her cousin too, but Izuku kept excluding her from the equation with ease.

At that thought, he felt the combined weight of his textbooks and Yamikumo cosplay increase exponentially inside his old backpack. Izuku briefly wondered why he brought that costume along in the first place...

"So, Midoriya," Ochako said, smiling up at him, "did you enjoy yourself?"

"Y-Yeah..." replied Izuku, his voice shaky. "I'm...I'm sure I made quite an impact back there..."

"Oh, I'm sure of it too! There's no way any one of them wouldn't like you!"

Izuku looked down at the ground woefully. "Except for Iida, that is..."

Ochako rolled her brown eyes. "Oh, don't you worry about Iida, Midoriya. Remember, he's still pretty hung up with what happened between him and Hatsume. You know, whenever his brother is concerned, Iida takes things super-seriously. I mean, I understand, because it's his brother." She went up to Yui and wrapped an arm over her shoulders. "If anyone did anything to Yui, I would stop at nothing to make sure they pay!"

"At nothing, huh...?"

Izuku tried to imagine Ochako exploding at someone who insulted or inconvenienced Yui, but found the image more cute than intimidating. Then, before he could stop himself, he started chuckling while clutching his sides.

"Oh, what's so funny, Midoriya?" Ochako asked, crossing her arms.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Uraraka!" Izuku stifled the last of his laughing and wiped the corner of his right eye. "It's just... I really _can't_ imagine you being angry at all."

Ochako's eye twinkled mysteriously. "Oh, trust me, Midoriya. When I'm angry, you'd better watch out."

"I guess I'll keep that in mind."

"What?" The girl playfully bumped Izuku's shoulder. "You don't believe me?"

"W-Well, you're just the friendliest girl I've ever met. Everything about you is smiles and sunshine." Izuku blushed a little and prayed Ochako wouldn't notice. "And you want to help people, no matter who they are or what their hobbies are. I... I just can't imagine you being aggressive and intimidating at all, Uraraka."

"Oh, just you wait and see, Midoriya." Ochako raised a fist of determination. "The opportunity will come when you know the full power of my rage!"

Izuku and Ochako started laughing at the latter's enthusiasm over her own anger. By that point, the three teenagers had reached the front gate. Once they got close enough, it opened up automatically, allowing them to officially leave Momo's estate. They then took the sidewalk headed towards town.

"Anyway..." Ochako continued, once she stopped laughing, "it's like I said. Iida really loves his older brother. He tells me every other day he can't hold a candle to him. To him, Tensei Iida is the person everyone should strive to be. That's why he gets so defensive whenever his brother is concerned, even though he'd normally consider that improper behavior by anyone else. And deep down, he knows it, which is why he keeps generalizing you and otaku culture. That way, it'd seem like mainstream thinking to him, even though it sort of contradicts what he stands for."

"I see." Izuku stared ahead at the pathway. "So basically, his brother is a sensitive topic for him."

"Well, if you insult his brother, that is." Ochako too stared ahead. "You know, Iida's a pretty big Japanese history buff."

Izuku chuckled. "Yeah, I noticed."

"That's why his brother worked so hard to get him a samurai suit. It was legit and everything. I saw it once; it was quite cool. But then Hatsume had to go and make it look like something out of a mecha anime." Ochako let out a single laugh. "His brother and his love for Japanese history. Insult both, even unintentionally, and it's a perfect storm. Still, I wish he'd let go of that already."

"I wish." Izuku flashed back to all of the times Tenya would encourage the entire class to take their studies seriously and reprimand those who would disregard him. "You should see him in my class. It's more like a government office, but he's the only politician in there. Many of the others are rude and condescending, or otherwise just plain dismissive of him and his efforts." He sighed. "Myself included..."

"Aw, come on, don't beat yourself up, Midoriya! You've been trying to win his favor all day even if your hobbies clash with his." Ochako raised her index finger. "And I'd say you're getting somewhere!"

"You think so...?"

"Yep! Remember, the fact that you were willing to go to the study group told him you were on your way to taking school seriously! I'm sure once you go back to class, his treatment of you will have improved, at least a little."

"I suppose. As long as he doesn't see any of my manga..."

Ochako pouted. "Hey, don't worry about reading your manga too, Midoriya. He's gotta learn to get over his petty grudge against Hatsume too. If you were willing to take school seriously in his eyes, Iida should start learning to treat otaku as people. I mean, _I_ don't think your hobbies are weird or anything. No one does. Well, maybe except for Yaomomo, but at least she knows how to be respectful of newcomers. And I have no idea about Todoroki, but he's always quiet, so either way, at least he's being respectful of you too."

"Yeah..." Izuku's thoughts shifted to the silent, seemingly brooding redhead. "Hey, Uraraka?"

"Yep?"

"Uh, what's going on with Todoroki? I think I've only heard him speak twice over there. And I've never heard him speak before in class, so..."

His voice trailed off, promptly Ochako to reply, "Oh, yeah. Good ole Todoroki. Don't worry about him. He's not the type to willingly attract any attention to himself. It's a shame, though, seeing he has his own fan-club." The chestnut-haired girl smiled. "But he's a friendly guy, Midoriya. Don't take his coldness as his opinion of you from now on."

"I didn't say I was bothered by him. But...something tells me he looks..._bothered_."

"Well, his dad's the police chief. There are lots of worries that come with that job."

"I guess..."

By that moment, the trio had entered the town. Ochako checked her wristwatch and pursed her lips.

"Oh, darn," she said. "It's getting late..." She looked up with a sympathetic smile. "Yui and I have to get going, Midoriya. Her parents are expecting us back in about ten minutes. Are you alright with walking home alone?"

"O-O-Of course!" Izuku stuttered. "I'm-I'm not a little kid, you know!"

"Well, of course not! I'm just worried you'll run into Bakugo and his friends along the way-"

"Be careful what you wish for, Round Face," a new voice said, sending chills up Izuku's spine.

He, Ochako, and Yui looked behind them and saw Katsuki walking up to them with a confident stride. He was wearing the school baseball uniform. The same grenade-painted baseball was in his right hand, while he had a red cap tucked under his left armpit. By his sides were Eijiro and Denki, who were also wearing uniforms of their own. There was also someone hugging Katsuki's right arm, making sure her breasts were pushing against his skin: smutty cheerleader Setsuna Tokage.

Ochako scowled at Katsuki. "What do you want, Bakugo?" she asked.

"Nothing," Setsuna replied innocently, speaking in Katsuki's place. "Only for you and your sweet lil' friends to step aside. We've got a game to go to."

"Yeah, and there's no time to waste!" exclaimed Eijiro. "So move or be moved!"

Denki didn't say anything and simply averted his eyes from Izuku, Ochako, and Yui, which surprised the former.

_"Huh,"_ Izuku thought. _"I suppose he's still embarrassed by what Sato said to him back at the booth."_

Katsuki's group continued walking towards them, so Izuku, Ochako, and Yui acquiesced and parted to allow them to pass through. As they did, Katsuki turned his head slightly to glare vengefully at Izuku.

"You're goddamn lucky you've got Round Face to back you up, otaku," he snarled savagely. "But I still haven't forgotten what you did to my lucky running shoes. If I lose the game, it's all on you, ya hear me? I'm gonna make the rest of your high-school life a living hell, ya got it?!"

"Too bad, Bakugo," Ochako replied, before Izuku could, "because _I'm_ gonna be beside him every step of the way! So you can forget about bullying him!"

Izuku's heart fluttered at the protection he was getting from his crush, but that was quashed when Katsuki stared at her, a fire lighting up in his eyes.

"I'd crush you on the spot if I didn't have a game to get to!" he roared. "So fuck off and know your place!"

"Yeah!" Setsuna added. She pointed accusingly at Ochako, her index finger centered on the other girl's nose. "Know your place, bitch!"

Fortunately for Izuku, the situation didn't escalate from there. Katsuki, Eijiro, Denki, and Setsuna continued on their way, with Eijiro turning around and giving them a death glare. He maintained that position until the quartet rounded a corner and went out of sight. As soon as they were gone, Ochako sighed with relief and pressed her fingertips together.

"Jeez," she said. "Bakugo... He _really_ gets on my nerves. I don't understand the good people like Kirishima and Kaminari see in him. I bet he'd abandon them as soon as he gets the chance."

"Well, Bakugo's a pretty charismatic person," Izuku replied tenderly. "He...He gives off a powerful aura that reels people in..."

"Yeah, well if only he'd be more generous about his power." Ochako then straightened the straps of her backpack. "Well, enough of that. Yui and I have to get going. We'll be seeing you at school, Midoriya!"

Ochako and Yui started walking down the same direction as Katsuki and his group, which Izuku was quick to notice.

"Whoa, wait a minute, Uraraka!" he called, stopping the two girls. "You're...You're _following_ Bakugo...?"

"Well, not by choice, obviously. Our home is down that way, and I know a shortcut." The girl smiled gently at him. "Don't worry about us. If we run into him again, we know what to do. Besides, I don't think he'd risk hitting a girl out in public. He's got his silly reputation to worry about, am I right?"

Izuku hesitated for a moment, questioning Ochako's logic. Then, he replied, "I guess..."

"Alright, then!" Ochako resumed walking away, followed by Yui. "I'll see you at school, Midoriya! Bye!"

Izuku couldn't see his own face right now, but he could imagine it being the reddest it has ever been. Nevertheless, the green-haired boy overcame his shyness and raised a shaky hand.

"B-B-Bye..." he stuttered. Ochako didn't hear him; not that it mattered to him.

He watched both girls leave, but he kept his sights on Ochako. His smile was ridiculous and dreamy, and his eyes became increasingly unfocused as he happily recalled the day's events and the time he unexpectedly got to spend with his crush. Then, he heard her chuckling at something Yui said, which made his heart flutter even more like it was a butterfly.

_"I can't believe this is happening to me..."_ he thought. _"I'm finally getting some friends, and on top of it all, one of them is Uraraka, the girl I've liked for so long! And she understands me and my hobbies! I know I keep thinking this is all too good to be true, but I've been proven wrong so many times today! Uraraka really does want to be my friend, and it's not for malicious purposes or anything! I'm...I'm truly blessed to have her! I don't want this friendship to end, not even for a second! Ohhhhh, if only I knew what to do to show my appreciation to her-"_

"Hey, whaddaya wanna do for tonight, Iguchi?" a familiar voice asked, the tone a disturbing mix of tough masculinity and haughty femininity.

"Eh, I dunno, Hikiishi," another familiar voice replied with boredom. "We've done everythin' in this damn boring town."

"Well, I know what _I_ wanna do tonight," snarled a vicious third voice. "I wanna get myself some _pussy_!"

Izuku froze as three people ambled out of an alleyway, and the first things he saw were the lizard tattoo, the triangular sunglasses, and the rippling muscles. Upon taking in all those physical features, he felt his world crumbling away, and he suddenly imagined himself standing in the middle of a crowd of uninterested onlookers.

_"Oh, no..."_ he thought with terror. _"It's them! It's_ them_!__ The men who robbed that poor girl yesterday morning!"_

"Hey, speaking of which..." the lizard tattoo man said, grinning hungrily, "guess what I just spotted!"

The muscular man followed his comrade's gaze, before a horrific, hungry grin broke out on his face.

"_Perfect_," he hissed. "Thank you, God, for high-school girls!"

Izuku covered his mouth to suppress his frightened gasp. He knew who they were talking about, and yet he stood on the same spot, petrified, watching as the three men observed their next prey like hawks.

"Hey, I want one this time," the lizard tattoo man said greedily. "You got to have your fun yesterday!"

"Fine, fine," replied the muscular man. "But I call dibs on the brunette!"

"Goddamn it, _I_ wanted her!"

"Well, beggars can't be choosers. Now come on! Let's have ourselves some _fun_!"

The muscular man and the lizard tattoo man cheered ceremoniously, while the effeminate man just snickered sadistically. Then, Izuku watched as they prowled down the sidewalk, their eyes focused on their targets, refusing to let them out of their sights. Izuku wanted to do something, but once again, he was motionless like a statue, watching pathetically as the trio of depraved crooks got further and further out of his reach.

_"No!"_ the boy thought. _"No, no, NO! What am I doing?! I'm gonna let this happen _again_! There isn't even anyone around who I can go to for help! I...I have to stop them alone!"_

At first, Izuku became terrified by this prospect. And then...

**_"Help!"_**

_**"Calling for help won't do ya any good. As you can see, no one gives a damn."**_

That memory unlocked something deep within Izuku. A newfound energy surged within his body like an electric current. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists so tightly that he almost drew blood from his palms.

_"_I _cared...and I still do! I'm not gonna let Uraraka and Kodai go through the same trauma as that girl from yesterday! I won't! After all, I want to be a__ person who helps others for the sake of good and nothing else!__ I want to be a superhero! I-"_

Then, all of a sudden, he remembered the Yamikumo cosplay inside his backpack...and immediately went to work.

* * *

**A/N:** You heard it here, folks! Izuku is about to go into his first foray of heroics in this Quirkless AU! You'll see how all of it works out in the next chapter, which is where the story REALLY kicks off! For those of you unhappy with all of the OOC moments, rejoice, for the next chapter is the point where everyone transitions out of that and turns into the characters we all know and love! I assure you, it's going to be a very fantastic ride!

Anyway, once again, there won't be another chapter in a couple of weeks or so. This is the last of the prepared chapters I have in my queue, and now I have to start working on new ones. Plus, I have to attend to my other fics as well.

I'd like to thank the following people for reviewing the last chapter:

**-Tohsaka413: **Okay, this will be the last time I have to say this: PLEASE state your thoughts on the current chapter in your review. I need as much feedback as possible from my readers if I'm going to keep up or even improve the quality of this story. If unrelated stuff is going to make up the entirety of your review, you might as well just shoot a PM my way to avoid wasting my time and getting my hopes up for nothing. Reviews should primarily be for commenting on the material of the story as of now, okay?

**-YukiNikki:** Don't worry. The next chapter will definitely kick-start the whole IzuMina tag, I promise. ;)

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	6. A Real Life Hero Debut

**A/N:** Hey, everyone! I really appreciate all the reviews I got for the previous chapter! Your words of support really mean a lot to me! And I'm super-glad this story is heading down an interesting and unique direction for you all! :D I hope you guys can keep up the astounding feedback, because as a first-time writer for the "My Hero Academia" fan community, I am definitely going to need it! :D :D :D

And for those of you who are a little concerned about the OOCness, don't worry! This chapter marks the transition out of that little phase. In fact, I think the behaviors of the characters in this chapter are already more in line with what we're all familiar with. And after all, we're going to have an action sequence in which Izuku makes his first foray into heroics in this Quirkless AU! HOORAY! :D

Also, I am pleased to announce that I have another "My Hero Academia" fic in the works! I know, I'm six chapters in for my first fic and I'm already coming up with new ideas for future fics. XP Anyway, this one is another AU, but this time, it will be set in the regular "My Hero Academia" world, Quirks and all. It'll be a retelling of Izuku's time in U.A. High School and the students of Class 1-B may or may not have a major role. And...that is all I have to say about it for now. I will be spending the entirety of this month (and perhaps next month as well) preparing the whole thing. I will only focus on the events of the anime's first season, but depending on how much people like it and my own enthusiasm in actually building up that AU, I could go well beyond that. We'll see where things go from there.

_Also_, I recommend checking out "Fist to Fist, Heart to Heart" by Yojimbra, if any of you haven't done so already. I believe it's a great fic about a pairing that's really under the radar. Ninety percent of the fanfiction that focuses on that pairing is usually harem fanfiction, first and foremost, and I think Yojimbra does a good job zeroing in on that pairing specifically... So check it out if you can!

Alright, I think I'm done rambling. On with the chapter! ENJOY!

**P.S.:** To those of you who watched "Avengers: Endgame", NO SPOILERS! To those of you who haven't watched it, I think you should. We're probably never going to have another movie of this magnitude ever again.

* * *

"Alright, then!" Ochako began walking away, followed by Yui. "I'll see you at school, Midoriya! Bye!"

The chestnut-haired girl didn't see her new friend's reaction, but she did vaguely hear him stutter something in response. But she disregarded it and continued walking. Improving his stuttering habits would have to wait for another day.

"That was fun," Yui commented flatly.

"Well, not for you, clearly," Ochako replied, her voice tinged with slight disappointment. "You didn't talk a lot _again_, Yui-chan. Midoriya kept forgetting you even existed! You know, you need to open up to other people more if you don't wanna scare anyone."

"But I felt it wasn't in my place to interrupt Midoriya in any way."

"Oh, that's nice of you, Yui-chan, but, uh, I don't think you're gonna interrupt anything-"

"Midoriya likes you, Ochako," Yui interrupted suddenly, her voice still monotone and her face still expressionless. It was like there was nothing surprising at all about this revelation.

Ochako chuckled heartily and lightly shoved Yui's shoulder. "Oh, what're you talking about, Yui?!" She lowered her voice a little. "Midoriya, having a crush on _me_? That's a little sudden and out-of-left-field, don't you think?"

"I've seen the way he looks at you." Yui stared on ahead at the sidewalk. "He always has a little red tinge in his cheeks whenever you're in his presence. Without a doubt, he likes you."

"Without a doubt, he likes you," Ochako repeated jokingly, her voice lowered to a painfully exaggerated tone of flatness. Then, she said in her normal voice, "Ah, come _on_, Yui-chan. Midoriya's a shy guy, and he's never talked to a girl for more than a couple of seconds in his life. I don't think a red tinge on his cheeks automatically means anything."

"He is also willing to attach himself to your hip. Wherever you go, he goes."

At that moment, the two girls overheard a loud, rambunctious, ceremonious cheer, but ignored it. They rounded a corner and were met with the sight of Katsuki and his cronies, but paid no heed to them.

"Because I'm the first person who's extended an invitation of friendliness to him, and also because he is not yet used to the others! But once he settles in, he will start sticking close with the others as well." Ochako looked at Yui inquisitively. "You shouldn't be so quick to make conclusions about people based on just a few clues."

"I'm just saying. There's something in the look on his face when he looks at you..." Some sort of light lit up in Yui's eyes. "It's more than the admiration and adoration you usually receive at school..."

"Oh, so you're an official mind-reader, huh?" Then, all of a sudden, Ochako's eyes lit up with understanding, and a crafty smile crept up in her face. "Ahhhhh, I see what's happening here..."

"What?" Yui asked stoically.

Ochako smirked as she poked her cousin's shoulder gently. "You have a crush on _Midoriyaaaaa_..."

"I do not."

"Admit it, you do." The round-faced girl giggled teasingly. "There's no other reason why you're persistently suggesting he likes me! Ahhhhh, and it's probably why you didn't wanna talk in the first place! You're afraid of embarrassing yourself in front of him!"

Yui's skin was still fair and unchanged, and her expression was still emotionless.

"That's not the case, Ochako."

"Then what _is_ the case, Yui?" When all she got was dead silence, Ochako pouted and poked Yui's shoulder again. "Come on, Yui, tell me! You know there's a reason why you don't talk a lot!" After a few moments, the girl scowled at the lack of response. "Yui, come on! Look, I'm your cousin. You can tell me anything!"

"Yeah, Yui," a new voice growled jeeringly. "Tell her. Tell your cousin."

Ochako and Yui both froze and turned around. Standing just a few feet away from them was a trio of shady men. One of them was large and muscular, and he had short, spiky ash-blond hair. Another had uncannily effeminate qualities and a pair of triangular sunglasses on. The third was shorter and had a lizard tattoo on his exposed shoulder.

"Ah, come _ooooon_, babe!" the lizard tattoo man exclaimed. "I wanna hear your lil' love story! After all, when it comes to men..." He leaned coolly against a nearby lamppost, though this made him even more menacing than anything else. "I'm your go-to expert. If you wanna know all about us guys, I can show you _all_ the lovin' and capabilities we have to offer!"

Ochako started to sweat, and even Yui looked alarmed. The two girls started slowly walking backwards, while the three men followed them just as slowly, like hungry predators cornering their prey. The corners of their eyes found no signs of other people nearby.

They were all alone and without help.

"Uhhhhh..." Ochako replied, "I-I think I'll pass-"

"You'll _pass_?" snapped the muscular man. "Bullshit! Babe, I promise you, we'll teach ya and ya cousin the greatest things about men! We'll show ya the time of your lives-"

"We don't your help," Yui interrupted. For once, her voice had a lot of force in it, and there was an expression of concern on her face. "We'll be just fine. Now please leave-"

"Ah, please leave, she says. Heh heh heh." The muscular man cracked his knuckles. "Too bad, _Yui_. See, one of the things about men is that we are _committed_. When we're committed to something, we never give up. And right now, me and my pals are committed to teaching ya two all about men. We ain't giving up until we _say_ we give up. Soooo..." He quickened his pace a little, causing Ochako and Yui's blood to run cold. "Just stay still and have a go at one of our lectures-"

"We told you to leave!" Ochako shouted defiantly, though her voice was shaky.

The muscular man stepped forward. "Well, too bad."

At that moment, Ochako and Yui tried to run, but the men were quicker. The effeminate man grabbed Ochako, while the lizard tattoo man seized Yui. Both girls struggled against their captors' grips, but their efforts were futile. Ochako tried to scream, but the effeminate man clasped a hand over her mouth, muffling her voice.

"Shhhhh..." he said, his voice chilling and eerie. "Don't worry. My friends'll show you and your dear cousin a _fun time_..."

"Hey, asshole," a familiar voice snarled savagely.

The five stared further down the sidewalk. Standing only a yard away were Katsuki, Eijiro, Denki, and Setsuna. Katsuki was wearing an absolutely irritated expression, like he did not want to intervene, but had no other choice in the matter. Eijiro and Denki looked rather defensive; the teenagers appeared to be ready for a fight, but their pupils were trembling immensely. As for Setsuna, she was cowering behind Katsuki.

"They told you to leave," Katsuki snarled.

"Oh?" the muscular man replied with a malevolent sneer. "And who the hell are you?"

"Just someone you don't wanna mess with. Especially since I chose to waste precious minutes sticking up for these little cowards rather than get to an important ballgame. And I'm in no mood to miss out on it. So you punks _better_ back off if ya know what's good for ya, otherwise you'll all get a beating so bad you'll be reduced to miserable little pulp!"

_"Bakugo?"_ Ochako thought with surprise.

Then, as if he sensed her thoughts, Katsuki shot her a seething glare. "Don't give me that hopeful look, Round Face," he snarled. "I'm not doing this for you." He trained his eyes on the muscular man. "If I miss the game because of your fuck-up, then you're on my hit-list for next week!"

"HA!" The muscular man shoved his compatriots aside as he marched up to Katsuki. "You think you can match up to the likes of me, squirt?!"

Katsuki scowled nastily at him. "Yeah, I think I can. Why? You don't think you can match up to the likes of _me_?"

The man scowled back. "You've got an attitude, you know that?"

"And what if I do? You know, you sure enjoy picking on people who can't fight back."

"HA! Says the person who claims to have a hit-list!" The man proceeded to scan Katsuki's body from head to toe, taking in every last physical detail. "Even so, you _clearly_ don't stand a chance against me!" He proudly flexed his arms. "You're the one who'll be reduced to miserable little pulp! I'm gonna send you runnin' to your mommy in no time!"

"YEAH?!" Katsuki suddenly roared, his eyes wide and fierce. "I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY, PEA-BRAIN! YOU WANNA GO?! I MOST CERTAINLY CAN GO!"

"Uhhhhh, _Bakugo_?" Eijiro asked, his voice low and shaky. His eyes stared warily at all three crooks, who were all clearly anticipating a fight. Unfortunately, his friend ignored him.

The muscular man narrowed his sharp eyes at Katsuki. At first, he looked absolutely infuriated by his reply and ready to retaliate violently. But Katsuki did not look deterred at all. In fact, he looked even more fearsome than ever. Confidence was literally radiating from his prone form. Then, after a long and tense silence, the man burst out into laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"What the hell is so funny, dumbass?" Katsuki snarled.

"Ahhhhh, now you are just _priceless_, man!" the muscular crook cried excitedly. "You are _so_ not qualified to go up against me; I can see it in your body as clear as day! You're not ready to face off against a guy like me! But you are so wrapped up in your overconfidence that you just don't give a flying fuck and will jump into a fight uninitiated! It's like your mind and body are total opposites of each other! It's just so goddamn hilarious, seeing someone's head so far up his goddamn ass! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"OH, YEAH?!" Katsuki gritted his teeth and raised a clenched fist, directing his knuckles towards the man's chest. "LET'S SEE WHO'LL BE LAUGHING AFTER THIS SHIT IS OVER WITH!"

His fist flew towards its target, but the muscular man, smirking, caught it effortlessly with one hand. Katsuki gasped and looked at the man's larger and bulkier arm as it held on to his fist tight. It wasn't shaking at all, and the way his foe was holding his fist so casually made it seem like he wasn't even exerting his full strength.

Gritting his teeth even more, Katsuki tried to put more strength and overcome this obstacle, but the muscular man didn't even break a sweat. The other teens stared on with terrified bewilderment, even Ochako and Yui.

"How cute," the crook said.

"B-Ba-Ba-_Bakugo_...?" stuttered Setsuna.

The muscular man flippantly tossed Katsuki's fist away. The blond boy tried to land another punch with his other fist, but his opponent also latched his other hand onto it and lazily tossed it aside like it was a piece of trash. Unwilling to accept defeat like this, Katsuki tried to throw yet another punch with his first fist, but his knuckles merely met the stone-hard, unflinching wall that was the muscular man's palm.

"For a dog with a lot of bark," the man said jubilantly, "you sure don't have much bite." He tossed the fist away and used his other hand to grab Katsuki's head, causing the boy to freeze. "But since you still had the balls to try and land a hit, I think it's only fair that I return the favor. After all..."

With that, the muscular man slammed Katsuki's head into the lamppost.

"Contrary to your belief, I appreciate people who try their damnedest to put up a good fight!"

"BAKUGO!" Eijiro, Denki, and Setsuna screamed with horror, while Ochako and Yui closed their eyes and tried their best to look away.

"UGH!" Katsuki cried as he collapsed to the sidewalk. His face was utterly shattered: blood poured out of his mouth and broken nose, and his left eye and cheek were darkened and puffy from the impact.

"Now then," the muscular man said, "got anything else to say?"

Using all of the strength he could exert, Katsuki stood back up. His form was now hunched, and he stumbled in his step.

"You..." he gurgled. "You bast- OOF!"

The man didn't allow Katsuki to finish. He punched the boy hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Then, he kicked him in the right leg, sending the baseball player toppling back down to the ground. Now that Katsuki was downed, the muscular man kicked him in the stomach with all of his strength, and more blood flew from the boy's mouth.

"Great job, man," the lizard tattoo man remarked while smirking. "You sure showed that entitled asshole."

All traces of terror instantly disappeared from Eijiro's face, and he leaped towards the muscular man.

"YOU BASTARD!" he shouted furiously. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR WHAT YOU- OOF!"

The man punched Eijiro in the face so hard that he could've sworn he felt some of his front teeth get snapped in half. The redhead crashed into a trashcan and both fell over, with the trashcan spewing its contents out onto the ground.

"KIRISHIMA!" Denki cried. Then, he stared fearfully at the muscular man, though he still put on a fighting stance. "You... Y-You _bastard_... Y-Y-You're g-gonna p-pay f-for-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man replied, his sneer wide and his eyes wild with euphoric glee. "I get the drill."

He raised his fist, and Denki regretted his actions immediately.

"Oh, shit!" he shouted as he ducked from the man's swing. But then, his opponent grabbed onto Denki's hair and, while holding on tight, yanked his head upward so they could face each other. "AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!"

Out of desperation, Denki began punching the man's chest wildly, but he wasn't deterred, whereas the blond boy's fists already started to hurt, with the bones feeling like they were about to be dislocated at any moment. The muscular man scoffed and pretended to yawn.

"Man, how _boring_..." he said.

"AAAAAGH!" another voice hollered.

Eijiro struck the muscular man in the back with the trashcan, using all of the strength he could muster. But this failed to knock him over; in fact, he didn't even budge an inch. The muscular man calmly looked over his shoulder at the redhead while Denki continued to struggle in his grip.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" he asked. His voice was calm and flat, but his eyes were so wide and vicious that it curdled Eijiro's blood.

"Holy shit..." he growled under his breath. He tried to swing the trashcan again, but his opponent violently tossed Denki into him, tearing out some of the other boy's hair in the process. Then, the muscular man started stomping on both boys with power and brutality that couldn't be matched.

Meanwhile, Ochako and Yui watched the one-sided fight unfold with horror. The sounds of Eijiro and Denki grunting and screaming with pain were unbearable for them to hear. Tears were starting to well up in the corners of Ochako's eyes.

_"No..."_ she thought. _"No way... The last people I'd expect to see today are trying to _save _me and Yui-chan...but that big guy is beating them to the ground! He's...He's gonna _kill_ them!"_

"Yeah, man!" the lizard tattoo man cried. "Beat 'em up good! Show them who's boss! WHOO!"

"Just be careful not to leave too big of a mess," added the effeminate man.

Finally, once Eijiro and Denki were completely bruised, bloodied, and battered, the muscular man halted his assault and cracked his neck with a sigh of relief.

"Now _that_ was refreshing..." he said, almost to himself than anyone else. "I enjoyed that pummeling, kids. Thanks for all the fun."

Then, a small whimper caught his attention. Looking towards the foot of the fallen trashcan, Setsuna stood there, totally petrified, fear etched in her dark-green eyes. She was holding a small, rusty iron pipe, which creaked a little with every vibration originating from her trembling body. The muscular man instinctively scanned her body for a couple of seconds, and then he grinned hungrily.

"Now don't be afraid! Me and my pals will show you how much _better_ we are than these weaklings!"

That set Setsuna off. With a small cry, she closed her eyes and swung the iron pipe. But the smiling man deftly caught it and yanked it out of her hands without much effort. She let out a tiny, almost inaudible squeak of a gasp as she realized her defeat.

"Trust me, babe," the man said, "we're gonna have _lots_ and _lots_ of fun..."

"_Fuck_..._you_..." a voice grumbled groggily.

Everyone's eyes turned towards Katsuki, who was using the lamppost to help him stand back up on his feet. Once he was steady, the baseball player glared hatefully at his opponent. His face was streaked with his own semi-dried blood, and he could barely see through his puffy eye. Nevertheless, his posture carried an air of latent wrath, stubbornness, and above all else, determination.

Ochako stared at Katsuki with a mixture of terror, concern, confusion, and a little admiration.

"I'm..." Katsuki winced. "I'm...so gonna..." He winced again. "Beat you...to a...goddamn..._pulp_!"

"Wow," the muscular man said, a smile slowly creeping onto his face. "I'm impressed, man. I gotta say...I'm impressed!" He threw the pipe away and held out his arms in a warm, welcoming gesture. "You may not have laid a single scratch on me, but in spite of everythin', you still wanna come at me with everyone you've got! I've been in many fights before, kid, but boy, you sure are somethin' else! And I gotta tell ya, man...I LIKE IT!"

At the corner of his good eye, Katsuki saw Setsuna make a run for it. But before the muscular man could notice this, he lurched himself forward with a pained roar and aimed a quivering, weakly clenched fist. The man chuckled and stepped aside, avoiding the attempted punch, which seemed to have more power in it. Then, he took Katsuki by the scruff of the neck, turned his head, and punched him in the right side of the face. The boy fell to the ground beside Eijiro and Denki, like a collapsing pile of bricks.

"Bakugo!" both boys cried. They tried to stand, but the injuries they suffered were too much for them.

"Come on, man!" shouted the lizard tattoo man. "Let's finish this already! I wanna get laid before anyone finds out what the hell is happening!"

Katsuki let out a brief yell that bordered rage and agony. Then, he stood back up with difficulty and raised his fists, only to receive a blow to the gut. The boy leaned against the wall, clutching his stomach and coughing out blood. But then, he withstood the pain of the attack and stumbled forward in an effort to land a hit of his own.

Instead, the muscular man punched him in the face again, and Katsuki was knocked into the same wall. Katsuki fought off the urge to collapse, but before he could retaliate, his opponent punched him twice in the chest.

"NO!" Ochako screamed, prying her mouth away from the effeminate man's hand. "STOP! STOP IT, PLEASE!"

"Why not?!" The muscular man glared at her, and the look on his face bordered gleeful insanity. "This!"

He punched the helpless Katsuki straight in the gut again. A small but terrible mixture of spit and blood jettisoned out of the boy's mouth.

"Is!"

He kicked Katsuki's right shin hard everyone heard a sickening snap. Katsuki's eyes widened, and his pupils dilated, as the horrific pain shot up his nerves, and it took all he had to suppress a scream of agony.

"FUN!"

He prepared to punch his victim in the face again, and even Katsuki seemed to await the inevitable. But it never came.

A blur of purple and black, distinguishable with its rabbit-like ears, pounced on the muscular man's back. Before he knew what had happened, the newcomer started slamming his fist down on his face.

"YOU LEAVE THEM **ALONE**!" he shouted with all of his might.

Upon hearing their savior's voice, Ochako, Yui, Eijiro, and Denki all gasped, and their thoughts were one in that moment.

_"_Midoriya_?!"_

* * *

Izuku didn't know why he was putting on his Yamikumo cosplay.

It was a split-second decision made by logic that ultimately escaped him. But there was nothing he could do about it. A barrier seemed to have sprung up the moment he whipped the costume out of his backpack, barring any other thoughts, more _rational_ thoughts, from guiding his next course of action, from seeking a better solution to the dilemma he had to face. His weak, stupid, useless body moved on its own, driven not by his brain, but by his heart.

His heart, which was hammering so violently against his sternum it seemed like it would burst out like something out of a horror movie.

As he moved, he could hear the three crooks confronting Ochako and Yui.

_"Oh, no!"_ he thought in a frenzied state of mind. _"No, no, NO! I gotta move, I gotta move, I gotta move! I can't let those people hurt Uraraka and Kodai!"_

Finally, he managed to put on his suit. The purple-and-black material gleamed magnificently in the setting Sun. Then, as Izuku was about to put on his mask, he heard another voice join the fray.

"YEAH?! I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY, PEA-BRAIN! YOU WANNA GO?! I MOST CERTAINLY CAN GO!"

Relief took over Izuku's form. _"Oh, thank goodness! Bakugo's there! He may not be the most likable person but he's got standards of his own! He wouldn't let Uraraka and Kodai get hurt! He'll take care of those criminals in no time!"_

"HAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The muscular man's powerful, confident laughter echoed through the otherwise empty and lifeless street, shaking Izuku to his core. His relief started to slowly ebb away...

_"Can he...?"_

"OH, YEAH?!" Izuku was startled by Katsuki's bestial roars. "LET'S SEE WHO'LL BE LAUGHING AFTER THIS SHIT IS OVER WITH!"

He then heard Katsuki trying to land a hit on the man...but judging by the sounds, it seemed like he was failing each and every time. Izuku started to sweat with disbelief.

Then, he heard something being smashed into something metallic.

"BAKUGO!" Eijiro, Denki, and Setsuna's voices screamed.

_"Kirishima, Kaminari, and Tokage are here too?!"_ Izuku thought. _"Okay, so they'll be able to back Bakugo up! Th-There's no reason for me to intervene-"_

"YOU BASTARD! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR WHAT YOU- OOF!"

Izuku flinched at the sounds of Eijiro being attacked and thrown into a trashcan.

"KIRISHIMA!" Denki cried shrilly.

Izuku didn't hear what happened next, but eventually, Denki's bloodcurdling scream pierced the air. Then, the boy heard something metallic smashing into something else, followed by a flurry of grunts, cries, and roars. Judging by the gleeful tone of the muscular man's noises, the battle was quickly turning to his favor...

_"I can't believe it... Bakugo, Kirishima, _and _Kaminari are getting beat up?! I...I gotta _do _something..."_

But his body couldn't move. In that moment, he felt an invisible force rooting his feet to the ground, paralyzing him.

_"W-Wait. Those guys will fight back if I confront them! They'll have no problem with beating up a scrawny little kid like me, especially after what they did to Bakugo! And especially because I'm wearing this stupid outfit! It'll just be a pastime to them! There's no way I can stand a chance in a fight like that! I...I can't just stop them all by myself!"_

"Yeah, man!" the lizard tattoo man cried from a distance. "Beat 'em up good! Show them who's boss! WHOO!"

_"I...I just can't stop them by myself... I can't expect myself to control this situation..."_

Then, Izuku could clearly hear Katsuki's voice. "I'm... I'm...so gonna...beat you...to a...goddamn..._pulp_!"

_"Bakugo can't do that! He's clearly hurt! He's gotta stop! B-But...wh-what am I supposed to do?! I...I don't know how to fight! I'm gonna get beat up! Or worse! I can't make my mom worry about me! And I can't let Shimura-san down!"_

Sounds of more punches of raw power and brutality filled the air, punctuated by Katsuki's grunts. Every last sound made Izuku's blood run as cold as the Arctic, but he still refused to move.

_"I can't help them-"_

**_"Help!"_**

_**"Calling for help won't do ya any good. As you can see, no one gives a damn."**_

All of a sudden, Izuku was back in the street near the alley. He could see that girl, shrouded in darkness, being menaced by the same three men. The crooks looked like they were having the time of their lives, harassing and touching her, and the girl appeared ready to die at any moment.

As for Izuku, he could feel hands holding every last inch of his body with vice-like grips, refusing to let him move.

Then, the quartet turned their heads at him in a singular motion. The girl had an accusatory look on her faces, as tears streaked down her cheeks. The crooks were grinning manically, their teeth bared like vicious fangs.

**"Why didn't you help me?"** the girl asked. **"You were there..."**

**"Hey, thanks for the help back there!"** the men chorused. **"We owe you!"**

"NO!"

Izuku was quickly brought back to reality by Ochako's voice.

"STOP! STOP IT, PLEASE!"

Before he knew it, he had his mask on, and he was running. Once again, it was a split-second decision made out of the instinct that came from his heart. But this time, he didn't question it. He never questioned it. He would never question it.

_"I WON'T BE A WITNESS ANYMORE!"_ his heart roared.

As Izuku approached at unrealized speeds, his mind zeroed in on the voices and the sounds of the fight, without regard for anything else. Tunnel vision was quickly kicking in. It felt like he was running forever.

"Why not?! This!"

A brutal punch, and some liquid being spilled.

"Is!"

A sickening snap, and Katsuki's restrained grunt of agony.

"FUN!"

Powered by newfound energy and adrenaline, Izuku leaped as high in the air as his body could let him...

And pounced on the muscular man's back. He wrapped his legs around the man's sides, while his left arm wrapped itself around his neck, securing Izuku tightly.

"YOU LEAVE THEM **ALONE**!" he shouted with all of his might, as he proceeded to slam his fist down on the crook's face with a wild, frenzied frequency.

"AGH!" roared the man, as he stepped away from Katsuki and started clawing at Izuku. "AAARGH! OOF! WHO THE- AGH! WHO THE FUCK! RAGH! IS THIS?! AAAAARGH! ARGH!"

"Holy crap!" the lizard tattoo man exclaimed with concern. He threw Yui away and ran up to his accomplice. "Don't worry, I'll get this bastard off- AGH!"

Izuku swung one of his legs wildly and managed to kick the lizard tattoo man in the shoulder. All the while, he refused to cease his attacks. As his compatriot stumbled backward, the effeminate man released Ochako and marched up to Izuku.

"You hold still now, sweetie," he said with a voice that sounded more sinister than soothing. "I'll take good care of- OW!"

Izuku stopped hitting the muscular man and used his right arm to punch the effeminate man. His triangular glasses flew off his face and hit the lamppost, one of its lens shattering.

Unfortunately, this gave the muscular man the opportunity to grab Izuku's neck. He squeezed tightly, causing the green-haired boy to gasp desperately for oxygen. His grip on the muscular man slackened immediately, allowing him to tear the wiry boy off of him and violently slam him into the sidewalk.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" Izuku roared with pain from the impact. He could've sworn something in his spine cracked.

The muscular man sneered down at Izuku as he took in his costume.

"Who the fuck are _you_ supposed to be?" he asked tauntingly. "A bunny man?"

"Goddamn," snarled the lizard tattoo man. "Lemme have a go at 'im! Fucker could've dislocated my arm!"

Before the muscular man could respond, he saw Katsuki pick up the pipe Setsuna abandoned and try to make a swing at him with all of his strength. Reacting quickly, he released Izuku and grabbed the pipe in time. Growling, Katsuki tried to press the pipe down on his opponent, but the man yanked the makeshift weapon out of his hands and struck him in the arm with it. Another snap sounded off.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" Katsuki finally screamed.

Then, the man struck him in the gut with the pipe. More blood flew out of Katsuki's mouth.

"HHHHHUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!"

The baseball player collapsed to the ground again, and this time, he couldn't do more than writhe softly with pain.

"Fucking hell, ma-" began the muscular man, before he was interrupted by a textbook thrown at his direction. He caught it in time, and glared at its source: Ochako, who was holding her open backpack.

"LEAVE US ALONE!" she screeched.

"MAKE ME, BITCH!"

The muscular man advanced towards Ochako. Eyes widening in terror, she tried to run, but he wrapped his arms around her torso and lifted her in the air with a tight, snakelike squeeze. All the while, he was snickering madly.

"You smell good..." he remarked as he took a sniff of her chestnut hair.

"**HELP**!" Ochako called. "SOMEONE, HELP!"

"GO ON, BITCH! CALL FOR HELP! BUT NO ONE'S GONNA ANSWER ANYWAY! WHY DO YOU THINK NO ONE'S COME YET?! PEOPLE ARE SUCH COWARDS NOWADAYS! THEY'RE JUST GONNA PUSSY OUT!"

As soon as he heard those words, Izuku felt the unknown, foreign energy returning to him, while the memory of the girl in the alley flashed across his mind like a malfunctioning projector. Gritting his teeth, he stood back up, ignoring the pain and soreness in his back, and picked up the textbook Ochako threw.

Eyeing his first target, Izuku focused on the effeminate man, who was still checking on his broken sunglasses. With all of the force he could muster, he threw the book at the man's head, stunning him. As the lizard tattoo man was still reacting to this move, Izuku ran up to him with a clenched fist and punched him squarely in the nose, sending him stumbling past the muscular man and smashing into the lamppost.

The muscular man turned his head. "What the-?"

Izuku then kicked him in the back of the leg, drawing an irritated yell from him and prompting him to release Ochako. He then tried to punch the man in the face with his left arm, but like with Katsuki, his opponent deftly caught his fist.

"You've got spunk, otaku," the man spat. "I'll give you that. But..."

Walking up from behind, the lizard tattoo man, his nose left misshapen and bloody from the last attack, wrapped an arm around Izuku's neck and squeezed as tightly as he could. This allowed his brawny accomplice to use his unoccupied arm, delivering a powerful swing to Izuku's elbow.

An appalling pop echoed, and Izuku's green eyes bulged out. His arm was bending at an unnatural angle, and pain unlike anything he had ever felt before was filling his mind like a seeping fog.

**"_AAAAA_****_AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_!"**

"I don't appreciate any sneaky shit like that!"

**"MIDORIYAAAAA!"**

It wasn't just Ochako who shouted his name, but also Yui, Eijiro, and Denki. The muscular man grinned at their cries.

"Ah, so you guys _know_ this otaku, huh?"

He grabbed Izuku's mask, and the boy couldn't stop him as he tore the left side of it off his face. Everyone could see his green eye, shimmering as tears poured down from it. The man started laughing as his effeminate accomplice approached his side, clutching his right temple.

"Wow, look at _you_!" the muscular man cried jubilantly. "You've got a baby-face! A fucking _baby-face_! And you wanted to be a hero?!"

"And he's even crying like a _baby_!" added the lizard tattoo man. "Now that's just a whole new level of pathetic!"

Suddenly, this man felt something clasp around his ankle, and he looked down to see Katsuki holding onto it tightly. With a smirk, he tore his leg away from the baseball player's grasp and stomped on his back. But this infinitesimal distraction gave Izuku the opportunity to stomp on the man's right foot.

"OW!"

The lizard tattoo man stumbled away from Izuku, who reacted by punching him in the nose again with his good arm. The man slammed headfirst into the wall and fell to the ground, knocked out.

The effeminate man sprung forward, grabbing Izuku by the neck. "You're going to pay for doing that to Iguchi, hon-" he began.

Taking advantage of his opponent's disorientation from the earlier attack, Izuku ripped the hand off him with astounding strength. Then, he bit down on his index and middle fingers as hard as he could. He refused to let go and even jerked his head around to amplify the injuries.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"

The brawny man punched Izuku on the right side of his face, tearing him away from his ally. And as the effeminate man cowered and attended to his fingers, Ochako and Yui ambushed him and pinned him to the sidewalk.

Meanwhile, the other ruffian began beating Izuku with a series of terrifyingly powerful punches. With every punch, Izuku stumbled further down the sidewalk, with his opponent calmly following him.

"THIS IS FUCKING NUTS!" he roared. "SO MANY SELF-RIGHTEOUS KIDS TO BEAT UP, SO LITTLE TIME! AND I **LOVE IT**! HAHAHA!" He increased the frequency of his punches, and Izuku resorted to raising his arms, even his broken one, in an effort to defend himself. "COME ON, BUNNY BOY! FIGHT BACK! GIMME YOUR BEST SHOT! I WANNA SEE THAT LIL' BEAST SOME MORE! LEMME SEE THAT BEAST!"

_"I don't know how much longer I can last..."_ Izuku thought, as he felt his arms suffer greatly from the storm of blows. _"I thought... I _actually _thought I could do it... But this Villain... He's... He's giving it his all...and I can't match him... I can't possibly hope...to beat him... Am I...Am I going to _lose_...?"_

**_"What makes you think I'm gonna give you another chance? We both know what's gonna happen, Midoriya. You're like a walking script that anyone can memorize. You try to do something, but you just can't do it right."_**

The muscular man continued punching and punching with no end in sight. The entirety of both of his arms felt like they were shattered into gravel. He could barely keep them raised for any longer.

_"Of course I'm going to lose. I can _never_ do anything right."_

**_"_****_I can't have you run around town in some flashy costume, beating up criminals and endangering your life, all because you think manga is the only thing that'll make life better for you! Because it isn't!"_**

The man finally broke through Izuku's defenses and began punching him in the face.

_"My dreams aren't even in the right order."_

**_"If you're having trouble with anything...please tell me. I'm your mother, Izuku. I'll stop at nothing to help you. But only if you're honest with me."_**

The man punched him in the sides, crippling him.

_"I couldn't even by honest to my own mom."_

**_"Are you _really_ not worried about anything at all, sweetie?"_**

Izuku was slammed to the ground again, allowing the muscular man to beat him without resistance.

_"I'm sorry, Mom..."_

**_"Jesus Christ, I can't believe you're taking this so seriously! What if you really got _hurt_?! D'you have any idea how I'd...?"_**

Izuku felt his grip on the world loosening. Darkness was slowly creeping in from the corners of his eyes, threatening to consume his sight.

_"I'm sorry, Shimura-san... I'm so sorry..."_

Everything turned black...

...

...

...

A soft splash of liquid brought Izuku back to reality. He could faintly hear the muscular man sputtering with surprise.

"Ack! What the hell?! Juice?!"

Izuku sensed movement nearby. He tilted his head slowly and saw the outline of someone standing in the middle of the empty street, holding an empty bottle. At first he thought it was Katsuki, ready for another fight, but his eyesight started to readjust, he took in the person's feminine form. So he thought it was Ochako.

But then, once his sight was fully restored, Izuku was surprised by his savior.

_"A..._Ashido_...?"_ he thought with incredulity.

To his absolute surprise, the normally confident and extroverted ganguro was completely taken by fear. Every last inch of her body was shaking so badly Izuku was surprised she hadn't wet herself. Even her hazel pupils were quivering terribly. She seemed to be wondering why she even bothered to intervene in the first place.

"S-S-S-St-St-Stop it..." Mina stuttered severely, as she dropped the carton of milk to the ground. "L-L-L-Le-Le-Lea-Leave him a-a-al-al-al-lo-lo-lone..."

"And who the hell are _you_?" the muscular man snarled with irritation, causing her to freeze with disbelief. "Ah, whatever. I'm gettin' tired of this shit. Time to end it all now."

He got up and walked away from Izuku, towards Mina, his steps punctuating by booming stomps. Izuku mentally yelled at her to run, but she remained transfixed to the spot, all of her willpower completely drained.

_"I gotta stop this..."_ Izuku thought feebly. _"I gotta... I can't...let him...hurt her..."_

Using what remained of his strength, the green-haired boy stood back up, catching the criminal's attention.

"Oh?" The man smirked. "So you haven't had enough yet? Ah, don't you worry, kid. I'll get back to you soon enough. Let me just take care of her first. After all..." He glared at Mina, whose skin paled. "I still haven't gotten laid yet."

Upon hearing that lewd remark, Izuku charged with an infuriated roar, his arms raised like shields again. The pain was so overwhelming that it clouded his vision, but he refused to stop. He got close enough to the muscular man and delivered a punch to his side, but it only wound up hurting his arm.

"AHAHAHAHA!" the man cackled with amusement. "Is that the best ya got, bunny boy?! And I thought you were _actually_ gonna get your edge this time 'round!" Then, he shrugged. "Ah, well..."

He then punched Izuku in the face, knocking him back to the ground. The green-haired boy tried to hold back his tears, but at that point, it became impossible. He could feel nothing but pain, his eyesight was hazy, his face felt so puffy, every bone in his body felt cracked and shattered...

"Midoriya!" he heard Mina squeak.

"Come on now, babe!" the man exclaimed gleefully. Izuku looked up and saw him wrapping his arms around Mina before she could have a chance to flee. "Let's have some _fun_ together!"

"NO!" Mina shrieked, and she began to cry. "**NO!** PLEASE! PLEASE, DON'T DO THIS! I DON'T WANNA! NOT-"

"Too bad, bitch! You were asking for it!"

The girl's cries and pleas instantly devolved into hysterical sobbing as she tried to struggle against her captor's grip. But he merely laughed while stroking her stomach and sniffing her hair. Then, Izuku watched the man's hands move, the left towards Mina's chest and the right towards her skirt.

Realizing what was about to happen, Izuku felt his strength reentering his body. He stood back up, albeit with difficulty, and he had to bite his lower lip to hold back his screams of pain. Then, once he was standing upright and he maintained his balance, Izuku ran up to the muscular man and leaped on his back for a second time, startling him.

"WHAT THE-?!"

Without a second thought, Izuku jabbed his finger into the man's left eye.

**"_AAAAA_****_AAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH_!"**

The man released Mina, allowing her to run away from his grasp. Then, she lost her footing and collapsed to the asphalt, upon which she looked up and watched Izuku as he started slamming his fists into her captor's face. This time, the hits were much stronger than before, and he made sure to target the man's eyes, nose, and mouth.

"YOU BASTARD!" roared the muscular man, as blood poured down from his injured eye. "YOU GODDAMN **BASTARD**! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU FOR THAT!"

He clasped his hands around Izuku's face and neck and squeezed as tightly as he could. However, Izuku managed to get one of his thumbs into his mouth and bit down hard, forcing the man to let go.

"FUUUUUCK! AAAGGGHHH!"

Next, Izuku grabbed the man's ashy-blond hair with one hand, held on tight, and pulled on it hard, threatening to tear it out of his scalp. As for his other hand, he dug his fingernails into the man's left cheek and started clawing at it viciously. But Izuku wasn't done: he leaned forward, took the man's right ear in his mouth, and bit down hard.

"**AAARRRGGGHHH!** YOU **FUCKER**!"

The muscular man ran over to the nearest building and slammed Izuku into it, forcing his teeth to release the man's ear. But the boy held on tight to his attacker, and through the thick fog of unbearable pain, he continued hitting and clawing the thick, horrible face with as much ferocity as he could muster. Rage and hatred for this depraved man fueled his body and kept him going. It didn't take long for his fingers to be stained with the man's blood.

**"RRRRRAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!"**

Blinded by pain as well, and with only one good eye left, the muscular man started slamming Izuku repeatedly into the wall, with each impact being more powerful than the last. Izuku struggled to refrain from blacking out.

_"Stay awake, Izuku,"_ he thought. _"Gotta stay awake, gotta stay awake, gotta stay awake. You've almost got him, Izuku, you've almost got him. His head's his weak spot, his head's his weak spot. Just keep attacking it, just keep attacking his weak spot, keep attacking his weak spot, keep attacking his weak spot."_

"Goddamn it!" the man cried, his voice strained and his face streaked with blood. "Let go of me! Get the fuck off me!"

"NO!" Izuku shouted defiantly as he increased the frequency of his attacks. "I'M NOT LETTING YOU GET AWAY, VILLAIN! I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH YOUR CRIMES!"

"You goddamn _retard_! AGH!"

Izuku punched the man in his uninjured ear with a lot of force. Grimacing intensely with pain, the criminal tried reaching for Izuku, but his reaction was sluggish now. Noticing this, the boy punched him hard in the injured ear, earning a shriek of agony from him. Then, he punched the uninjured ear again, then the injured one, and so on and so forth, all the while ignoring the man's feeble attempts to grab any part of his body and tear him off his back. This attack continued until the man fell to the sidewalk, disoriented. This allowed Izuku to wrap one of his arms around his neck and squeeze tightly.

"ACK! AAAAAAACK!" The man grabbed Izuku's arms and tried to pry them off, but the boy punched his injured ear with his unoccupied hand, and then his injured eye. "AGH! AGH! St-_Stop_... Let... Lemme...go... Ack!"

"NEVER!" Izuku screamed. "YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO THAT GIRL YESTERDAY!" The victimized girl and the dark alleyway reentered his thoughts, energizing him even more. "YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HER!"

And with that, he wrapped his other arm around the muscular man's neck and squeezed harder than ever before. With a horrified gasp, the man started struggling out of desperation. He tried to use his hammy hands to pry Izuku's arms off, but all of the pain inflicted to his face and thumb, plus his scrambled senses of sight and hearing, slowed his movements and dulled his once-impressive strength.

For once, Izuku had the advantage over him.

_"I've got him!"_ the green-haired boy thought gleefully, as he continued to feel his opponent struggle in vain. _"I've... I've got him! I've got him where I want him! Now...Now...I can make him pay for what he did to that girl! He'll now pay for what he did to me! Heh heh heh... He'll pay!"_

He squeezed even tighter, ignoring the pain that was now assaulting his own arms. He could faintly hear the man's voice becoming raspier by the second as he gasped and pleaded for his life. As he continued to squeeze, Izuku could imagine himself running through that alleyway, confident and no longer afraid of failure...

Just then, he could see the girl standing on the other side of the alley. Though he still couldn't make out her features, he could tell she was smiling proudly at him. He smiled back and ran towards her...

Just then, she shouted, "STOP!"

"What...?"

Izuku was pulled back to reality by the sudden voice. Through the pain, he could still feel the muscular man gasping and pulling at his arms...but his strength was fading, almost nonexistent.

"MIDORIYA, STOP!" Mina's voice called hysterically. "YOU'RE... YOU'RE-!"

Izuku immediately realized what he was doing and released his grip on the man. The criminal let out a hoarse, strained, drawn-out gasp as his lungs excitedly embraced the return of oxygen. The man rolled over to his side to allow for more breathing room, allowing Izuku to stand up and back away from him. As he did, his eyes were wide, and he was shaking his head with disbelief.

His fear only escalated when he finally heard police sirens in the distance.

_"Oh, no..."_ he thought. _"Oh, no! Oh no, oh no, oh no! I...I nearly killed him! I...I _could've _killed him! B-But I...I-I didn't mean to! I...I just wanted to..."_

The immense pain that he suffered finally caught up to him again, and Izuku collapsed to the sidewalk.

"MIDORIYA!" Mina called at the top of her lungs.

Izuku heard her, but he could barely register her voice. His vision was blurring by the second, and he could feel his grip on the world loosening. He wanted to stay conscious, but by that point, his willpower had completely given up. His body simply wanted to rest now, given all that it just went through.

The last thing Izuku saw, before he finally passed out, was Mina running up to him...

* * *

"Midoriya? Hey, Midoriya! Hey, man, are you up?!"

A curtain lifted, and Izuku's eyes were blasted by white light. He strained his eyelids, groaned softly, and turned his head away, his brain rejoicing a little at the soft, warm feeling of his pillow...

_"A..._pillow_...?"_

Izuku turned his head back and slowly opened his eyelids again. As he did, the voice spoke again.

"Hey, Midoriya's awake, guys! He's awake!"

For some reason, whatever familiarity the voice had bounced off Izuku's brain like it ran into a barrier. The green-haired boy was entirely focused on visually processing his surroundings. The white light was slowly receding upward, like a tide, in the process revealing walls colored in a dull beige. Then, he could make out some metal equipment and a white door.

Izuku suddenly heard several bodies rush by his side. For the quickest moment, he did not recognize any of them. Then, his green eyes gravitated to their hairstyles, and his memories rushed back to him like a violent flood.

As did the pain.

"Ugh..." he moaned. He attempted to adjust his position on the bed, but that only provoked a horrible stinging sensation in his arms, which felt like they were encased in cement.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there, man!" Eijiro exclaimed. "The doctors did a number on ya!"

"Don't want you breaking anything again," added Denki.

Izuku stared at them hesitantly. Ever since he started high school, he made it a point to avoid Katsuki and his friends like the plague. But now, they had him cornered on a bed, he felt heavy, and there was only one escape route.

Then again, Izuku noticed that Eijiro and Denki had bandages on their faces and arms. In addition, a few of Eijiro's front teeth were chipped, giving them a curiously spiky look. He doubted they'd be able to do much of anything in that state.

"What..." he uttered with difficulty, his voice hoarse and slow. "What are you guys...doing here...?"

"It's okay, Midoriya," Ochako replied as she patted his shoulder gently. "They're not here to make fun of you. We got that cleared up."

"Yes, Midoriya," Tenya added, his voice as serious as always. "As long as I'm around, our classmates will be at their best behavior at all times." He gave Eijiro, Denki, Hanta, Hitoshi, and Setsuna a sharp glare. "Isn't that right?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Denki replied dismissively. His eyes were still on Izuku, and there was a surprisingly friendly smile on his face. "Midoriya, it's so good to have you back with us, man!"

"Wh..._Wha_...?" Izuku asked blankly. Privately, he thought, _"Did those words just come out of Kaminari's mouth? What is going on? Did...Did I wake up in an alternate universe or something...?"_

"Oh, that reminds me!" Tenya looked at Tsuyu. "Asui, let's go get Midoriya's mother. We need to inform her that her son has awoken!"

"Sure thing, Iida," the green-haired girl replied. The two teenagers promptly left the room, with Tenya giving Izuku one last look of affirmation before departing.

Now that Izuku was fully aware of his environment, he realized he was bearing witness to the strangest and most foreign situation. Also in the room, by his side, were Yui, Shoto, Momo, and Itsuka...his new friends, who all promised to protect him from Katsuki and his friends. But Eijiro, Denki, Hanta, Hitoshi, and Setsuna were present, and yet, while the overall atmosphere of the room was awkward, neither of the two groups were ever hostile to each other. It was almost like they became friends overnight...

"U...Uraraka...?" Izuku asked hoarsely.

Ochako looked at him with concern. "Y-Yes, Midoriya?" she asked. "I-Is everything alright? A-Are you in pain?"

"N-No. _No_! I...I just wanted to know...what happened..." He swallowed. "And...how long...have I been...unconscious...?"

The chestnut-haired girl heaved out a sigh of relief. Then, she latched a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.

"It's alright, Midoriya. The police came as soon as you blacked out. They arrested those guys on the spot. But you and B-Bakugo were in pretty bad shape, so you two had to go into surgery."

"Yeah, you guys took quite a beating," Denki added. "I heard one of the doctors say you had internal bleedin'."

Izuku's eyes broadened with alarm. "I-Internal...bl-_bleeding_...?"

"Kaminari, I think you've said enough..." Itsuka said, shooting the blond boy a dissatisfied glare.

Izuku refocused on Ochako. "Did...Did Kacchan...?"

His voice trailed off, but Ochako seemed to understand, for she replied, "Bakugo made it. He woke up a few hours before you. In fact, he's in the room next to you. But neither of you are allowed to get out of this bed yet."

"O-Oh..."

Izuku absentmindedly stared at the door, as if he were expecting Tenya and Tsuyu to reenter the room with his mother in tow, ready to slap and scold him for doing something so reckless. Not that such a reaction was undeserved. He knew he worried his mother to death in that moment. He could only imagine her face when she got the phone call...

"And...how long have I been out...Uraraka?"

"For...For three days. B-Both of you were out for that amount of time, since the surgeries."

The boy stared back at her with surprise. He wanted to shout out, but by that point, his energy and willpower were at an all-time low. He couldn't even will himself to say another word, no matter what it was. He was done talking for the day.

Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He stared and realized it was some purple curtains drawn over a window, the only one in his room.

* * *

**A/N:** And that concludes this chapter! Hopefully this action sequence was to your liking! :D I do apologize if Izuku was unusually brutal in those last few moments. But do note that he's got a lot of baggage when it comes to those three. The fight was the closest thing he got to resolving that traumatic event.

Also, I am not sure if three days is too little time or too much time for someone to regain consciousness from a surgery for internal bleeding. I'm not really an expert in surgery and I had to weigh my options. So if that recovery time seemed a little unrealistic, I apologize for that too.

Anyway, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:

**-****W0lfWarrior:** Thanks! I'm glad you like the premise and how it's going so far! I'm only trying to assuage other readers because I know how big the "My Hero Academia" fanbase is, and there can be a lot of pressure trying to satisfy as much as I can when I'm writing an AU fic.

**-****HonoredBibliophile:** Well, we're on our way to seeing that transition out of OOC world to in-character world! You'll get more clarification on that transition in the following chapters. :D

**-****manofrah:**

**1)** Thank you so much! I'm glad the quality of this story is satisfactory to you so far!

**2)** Indeed, I love Izuku having friends. You have no idea how much life I get seeing him being friendly with everyone in Class 1-A. So, hell yeah I'm gonna make Izuku's interactions with Ochako and her group wholesome! :D :D :D

**-****Whitetiger789:** Can you please be more specific in your review? Why exactly was it a "good chapter"? Please, I need more than just a couple of words in your reviews.

**-****Tohsaka143:**

**1)** Yep, of course they're cool about it! They made it a point to not be like Katsuki and his group of friends. Even if one of their own makes a strange suggestion on what to do, they'll do it for the novelty of it.

**2)** Oh! I thought my reasoning for Tenya's dislike of anime and manga was still a little loose, nonsensical, and OOC. But I guess not! I'm very glad I was more on point with his personality than I realized. :D

**3)** Trust me, development of the IzuMina pairing is going to be pretty great! In fact, I think you'll like the little moments the two had in this chapter, even if they were in the heat of a fight with a depraved crook. :D :D :D

**4)** Thanks! I'll definitely be sure to keep up the amazing work!

**-YukiNikki:**

**1)** Oh yeah, I know. The inability to like certain chapters on this site just amazes me.

**2)** Sorry, but can you please be specific in your review? What was it exactly that you liked? Was there anything that you didn't like? Any questions that need addressing? Please, I need explicit feedback like that so I can keep up the good work and even improve in certain areas.

**-****2010si:** Can you please be more specific in your review? Please, I need more than just simple thanks in your reviews.

**-****MarvelNinja10:**

**1)** Sorry. Trust me, I do love IzuOcha, I really do. In fact, it was going to be the original Midoriya pairing for this fic, but I eventually decided to settle on IzuMina because I felt that going for IzuOcha would be too obvious of a writing choice. Plus, having Izuku eventually fall for another girl actually fits with the kind of theme I'm going for in this story. Do know that this choice wasn't made out of any hatred for IzuOcha or anything.

**2)** I'm glad it's easy for you to identify with this version of Izuku. But I'd like to know exactly why. If it's too personal of a thing for you to reveal on a forum, you can send me a PM message. I think I know what you're going to say, though...

**-Me (guest reviewer):** I know, right?! I actually mention "Kick-Ass" in the Author's Note at the end of the first chapter, so yes, that movie's definitely a source of inspiration for me.

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	7. Keep On Dreaming

**A/N:** Sorry for the small delay, everyone. I was busy finishing up everything I had left for my spring semester of college, not to mention working on the newest chapter for my "Angel Beats!" fic. Fortunately, I've FINALLY gotten done with all of my finals and remaining assignments, which means summer has officially begun for me! HOORAY! But unfortunately, I've also enrolled into a couple of classes for the summer semester, which means not much will change after this. We will see how things go from here on out.

Also, I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but I sincerely recommend checking out "Fist to Fist, Heart to Heart" by Yojimbra, if any of you haven't done so already. I still believe it's a great fic about a pairing that's really under the radar. About ninety percent of the fanfiction focusing on that pairing is usually in the harem genre and I think Yojimbra does a good job zeroing in on that pairing specifically... So check it out if you can!

Alright, I'm done with the announcements. On with the chapter! It'll be a bit of a slow burn compared to the events that occurred in the previous chapter, but nevertheless...ENJOY!

**P.S.:** I was lucky enough to see an advance screening of "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" that was held for the Memorial Day weekend. To all of my Godzilla fans out there, if you want to experience some top-tier monster action, then GO **SEE IT** WHEN IT OPENS IN YOUR LOCAL THEATER. I think watching it was a magical experience. :)

* * *

**_"Help!"_**

**_"Calling for help won't do ya any good. As you can see, no one gives a damn."_**

_**"NO! I'M NOT LETTING YOU GET AWAY, VILLAIN! I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH YOUR CRIMES!"**_

_**"ACK! AAAAAAACK! AGH! AGH! St-**_**Stop**_**... Let... Lemme...go... Ack!"**_

_**"NEVER! YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO THAT GIRL YESTERDAY! YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HER!"**_

_**"**_**STOP_!"_**

Izuku woke up with a gasp, and bright light immediately assaulted his vision. He instinctively winced and turned his head away from the ceiling, all the while moving carefully to avoid aggravating the lingering pain in his cast-encased arms. As his green eyes adjusted to the light in the room, Izuku blankly stared at the dull beige wall, almost grateful that he could get the chance to see such an uneventful color again in his life. After all, he had just been involved in the fight of his life.

"Oh, good," a voice suddenly said, the serious tone as gentle and accommodating as possible. "You're awake, kid."

Izuku slowly inched his head back to its original position, and he didn't see any of his friends or Katsuki's cronies waiting on him. Instead, there was a couple of unfamiliar people sitting in some chairs in the room. One of them was a man with sharp eyes, slightly tanned skin, and hair as brown as wood. The other was a woman with flowing platinum-blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a seemingly lifeless expression etched in her face.

"Who..." the boy croaked, before taking a moment to swallow. "Who are _you_?"

"We're with the police," the brown-haired stranger replied earnestly. "My name's Nishiya. This is my partner Takeyama." He gestured to the woman, who gave Izuku an off-handed wave; Izuku recognized the name immediately, but chose not to say anything out of respect to the officers. "How are you doing, Midoriya-kun?"

For a long moment, Izuku didn't respond to the question and instead chose to process his current surroundings. It had to have been a few hours since he first regained consciousness at the hospital. Since that time, he reunited with his mother, who, not unexpectedly for him, slapped him and gave him an earful of how much she was worried for him. Of course, he apologized profusely and promised not to jeopardize his life like that ever again, a term which she accepted before loudly bursting into tears and hugging him like there was no tomorrow.

After that, Ochako and the others decided to leave and give him time to rest, naturally at Tenya's suggestion. Since then, Inko had been by his bedside...until now...

"Midoriya-kun?" the officer asked again, catching his attention. "Are you feeling well right now? ...If you want us to leave and come back another time, then we can-"

"No, I'm fine..." Izuku replied abruptly. His face turned red as he looked away again. "T-Tell me...what happened to those three guys?"

"Well, naturally we took two of 'em into custody, got them processed right away. The third one, the one your friends say you subdued all by yourself, we had to take him to the hospital. In fact, he's one floor below you. But don't worry. We've got an officer watching him at all times. Not that I think he's in any condition to go anywhere right now."

Izuku pursed his lips apprehensively. "Am...Am I in..._trouble_...?"

Nishiya blinked. "Should you be?"

"I...I came so close to killing him... I...I was..._strangling_ him..."

_**"ACK! AAAAAAACK! AGH! AGH! St-**_**Stop**_**... Let... Lemme...go... Ack!"**_

_**"NEVER! YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO THAT GIRL YESTERDAY! YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HER!"**_

"And I didn't wanna let go..."

Izuku narrowed his eyes slightly. He did not want to remember what he did last night, but it stubbornly clung to his mind like a leech. He could still hear the muscular man's fading gasps for oxygen, feel his desperate thrashing as it weakened by the second...

"We know," Nishiya replied. "Your friend Ashido told us all of that."

"Then you should know that's against the law." Izuku sniffled and looked at the two officers with shimmering green eyes. "That...That's attempted murder..."

"Not if you were trying to defend someone else." Nishiya leaned forward a little. "Midoriya-kun, I promise you, you're not in trouble. You were only trying to do the right thing."

"How could you say that, Officer?!"

"Midoriya-kun, that man was very bad news. He and his friends were responsible for a multitude of crimes that occurred throughout town, ranging from robbery to assault to rape to even murder."

"M-_Murder_?" Izuku began to sweat a little at the thought of nearly dying at the hands of those men. "Are-Are you _sure_?"

"Yes. As far as my precinct is concerned, Midoriya-kun, you did everything you could to protect others. My captain would commend you if he weren't so busy." Nishiya then noticed the glimmer of doubt in Izuku's eyes. "Don't worry. We are _not_ going to arrest you or anything just because you were only looking out for others, Midoriya-kun. I promise you that."

"Oh, thank God..." Then, the boy stared at both officers accusingly. "B-But if these people killed someone before, h-how come you guys didn't arrest him before?! D'you have any idea what kind of crimes you could've prevented?!"

"We're aware of that, and we would've arrested them if we had a chance." Nishiya tapped his fingers against each other on instinct, and Izuku could see the look of annoyance flashing across his eyes. "You see, my precinct has been trying to nail them for months, but they happened to be well-connected."

Izuku blinked with confusion. "Well-_connected_?"

Nishiya nodded. "Yes, Midoriya-kun. Those three, they're low-level thugs working for the Shie Hassaikai."

The boy's eyes widened with terror and he could feel his world crumble all around him. That was the last thing he wanted to hear about the men he faced off against last night.

Upon noticing Izuku's expression, Nishiya said in a low voice, "I assume you already know about the Shie Hassaikai."

"W-Wh-Who _doesn't_?"

"Only people who don't pay attention to the newspapers." Nishiya pursed his lips and stared out of the window. "But yes, Midoriya-kun, those three are with the Shie Hassaikai."

"B-Bu-But _how_?!" Izuku carefully straightened himself on his bed. "Th-Th-Those c-cr-crooks d-don't look like-"

"Yakuza?" Nishiya scoffed. "Kid, there's so much about this town that you don't know about. Now yes, it's no secret that this ordinary, dainty little place is a hub of Yakuza activity. It has been that way for the past decade, ever since the police started cracking down on them in their usual stomping grounds, our big-city neighbor Shizuoka. The Shie Hassaikai had to turn to the outlying towns and villages for new playgrounds. Including us. And as you probably know as well, we were helpless to do anything about it. We were risking a lot, earning the Shie Hassaikai's wrath and getting ourselves and our families killed.

"But what you don't know is that the Shie Hassaikai has their ways of casting their influence over anyone in a position to stop them. None of us can confirm it but it's clear to us that there's an unspoken agreement between Shie Hassaikai and city officials to maintain a symbiotic relationship, founded on unshakable trust and benefits for the other side. If a unit of gangsters can get a shipment of illegal weapons in broad daylight through our streets without any interference, then the mayor can win reelection easily without any problems. You help me get what I want, I help you get what you want. That sort of deal."

The dumbfounded Izuku listened to Nishiya as he delved into his explanation. The words barely reached his ears, for his primary concern was the safety of his mother and all his friends.

"Thanks to the Shie Hassaikai," continued Nishiya, "criminal activity became a profitable profession. That's where those three lowlifes come into the equation. Ever since the Shie Hassaikai took over, low-level thugs of all varieties have been springing up, seeking to either set up their own operations that would ultimately usurp the Shie Hassaikai, or become a member of the Shie Hassaikai themselves and climb up the ranks. And obviously, those three fit the latter category."

"It's like the local economy is entirely dependent on the success of the Shie Hassaikai," Takeyama suddenly piped up as she idly twirled a bang of her platinum-blonde hair. "You become a criminal, especially one that's affiliated with the Shie Hassaikai, and you get far in life. Farther than you'd get if you got any other job."

Izuku stared at her glumly, which Nishiya noticed. He shot his female partner a stern glare, but she merely turned away and didn't speak anymore, instead continuing to fiddle with her hair like none of this concerned her at all. As for Nishiya, he looked back at Izuku.

"What my partner was _trying_ to say was..." he said, "it's a very bad situation for the police whenever the Shie Hassaikai is involved... People aligned with that Yakuza group are untouchable, regardless of what their rank is. They always know who to reach out to for help. Even if innocent people are barely aware of the corruption permeating our society, they still know not to step in whenever they see something wrong... They're aware how broken the system here is, and that their better judgment will only lead to more trouble for them. It's like a survival instinct.

"But..." He smiled slightly, but with pride. "Your intervention during one of their crimes gave us an excuse to bring them in for a crime we can actually stick them with. And for that, we are eternally grateful for you, Midoriya-kun, even if your, uh..." He cleared his throat respectfully. "_Methods_ were a bit unconventional."

Izuku immediately knew Nishiya was talking about his Yamikumo cosplay. But he shrugged that aside and asked, "B-But, Officer...am-am I in any danger? S-S-Since th-those three are with th-the Sh-Shie Hassaikai a-and all-"

"As far as we know, no," Nishiya interrupted as he shook his head. "There's no reason to believe that the Shie Hassaikai would care for a few low-level thugs under their employment."

"Oh..." Despite the response, Izuku couldn't shake off the horrible feeling of foreboding. "G-Good..."

"But hopefully, we'll be able to learn something about the Shie Hassaikai from those three. They're at the bottom rung of the food chain. We should be able to flip 'em easily." Nishiya smiled. "After all, we got 'em, all thanks to you, kid."

_"All thanks...to _me_...?"_ Izuku thought as he stared back incredulously at the officer. _"I...I can't believe it..."_ A small smile started to form on his face. _"I...I actually did something..._right _for a change... I got to help out the police. It...It actually feels good..."_

"Ahem..."

Nishiya and Izuku both turned towards Takeyama as she lowered her hand. Izuku then looked back at Nishiya, who didn't look all that impressed by her sudden interruption.

"Yes, Takeyama?" he asked, an eyebrow arched.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Nishiya?"

He blinked idly. "And that would be...?"

"Oh, I dunno..." Takeyama nonchalantly examined her manicured fingernails. "Maybe, you know, getting his statement?"

Izuku sensed a slightly tense air forming between the two officers. Nevertheless, Nishiya sighed and procured a notepad and black pen from his breast pocket.

"Yes, yes, that's right..."

Fortunately for Izuku, it did not take long for Nishiya and Takeyama to collect his statement on the incident, since there wasn't anything much to say other than the obvious. Afterwards, Takeyama quickly left, as if she had somewhere else to be. As for Nishiya, he remained behind for a moment to thank Izuku again for his unconditional bravery before leaving as well.

Once they were gone, Izuku leaned back on his bed and smiled one of the widest smiles he had ever produced.

_"I can't believe things have been working out so well for me lately,"_ he thought. _"First I manage to make friends who like my hobbies, of which Uraraka is one of them. Then I get to be a hero and save people from evildoers. And now I'm being thanked by the police for my efforts. They're not even gonna arrest me for nearly killing that one crook... I'm...I'm now afraid of closing my eyes, otherwise it'll all turn out to be a dream..."_ He cast a glance at his heavily bandaged arms and started chuckling softly. _"Wow... If only Shimura-san were here to see this..."_

**_"You're not allowed to come back here until you find something productive to do at school, Midoriya. I don't care what it is, as long as you make friends and enjoy life beyond the pleasures of manga."_**

_"He's probably seen the news by now,"_ Izuku thought, his expression now glum. He glanced at one of the empty chairs, as if he were expecting to see Shimura sitting on it right now.

_**"Jesus Christ, I can't believe you're taking this so seriously! What if you really got **_**hurt**_**?! D'you have any idea how I'd...?"**_

_"I'm sorry, Shimura-san. I didn't mean to worry you. But I couldn't just be a bystander. Not after what happened..."_

He closed his eyes and imagined himself standing in the alleyway again. He could see the three crooks slumped against a wall, all tied up and submissive. No longer was the alleyway dark; it was now painted in red and blue. The schoolgirl was staring at them with shock before focusing her gaze on him. Even in spite of the presence of colors in the shady area, he still couldn't make out her facial features.

_**"You..."**_ she said, _**"you did this...?"**_

Izuku nodded. _**"Yes."**_

The girl looked back at her assailants, who were whimpering with defeat. Then, she stared at him again.

_**"Why? You...You could've gotten killed..."**_

_**"Because...I...I let them rob you...hurt you... I...I wanted to stop them...but...I couldn't... I was too afraid to act. And it's haunted me ever since. Then I saw them trying to hurt more people..."**_ He gave her a valiant grin. _**"And I couldn't let them do that again. I couldn't let them hurt my friends like they hurt you."**_

The girl stared at him in stunned silence. Then, he could see her look down at the ground, and though he couldn't make out a face, he sensed her smiling.

She looked up at him and replied, _**"Thank you, Midoriya...for caring about me..."**_

Izuku opened his eyes and stared at the same empty chair again.

_"I couldn't let my friends get hurt, Shimura-san," _he thought._ "I couldn't. They didn't ask to be a part in this new system of crime that's taken over our town. That should not be their new way of life.__ Someone had to keep a watchful eye over them."_

Suddenly, the door opened, and Izuku looked towards the doorway, almost expecting to see Shimura.

"Oh," he said as soon as he recognized his visitor. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, Izuku sweetie," Inko replied softly. She sat down on the same empty chair her son had been looking at and placed a plastic bag on top of the nearby table. "I brought you some of your favorite food. Katsudon!"

Izuku winced a little, hearing the amount of force and effort his mother had to exert in order to make her voice sound as cheery as possible. But he stomached that reaction and gave Inko a soft smile.

"Thanks, Mom," he replied. "You're... You're the best."

Inko chuckled and prepared to say something in response, but her voice seemed to get trapped in her throat. After a few seconds, the rotund woman reconsidered it and started opening the plastic bag. Izuku watched her and noticed how her face was contorting with grave concern while her slightly trembling fingers pulled out the white Styrofoam boxes.

_**"**_**_Those three, they're low-level thugs working for the Shie Hassaikai."_**

_**"There's no reason to believe that the Shie Hassaikai would care for a few low-level thugs under their employment."**_

"M-Mom," he blurted out abruptly, prompting Inko to look at him again.

"Y-Yes, sweetie?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm...I'm sorry..." Izuku forlornly looked down at his lap. "I'm so sorry...for worrying you..."

With a soft look, Inko gently set the Styrofoam boxes down on the table. "Izuku...you don't have to apologize anymore." She clasped her hands together. "We've already been through this, and I'm no longer mad... In fact, I'm a little proud of you, honey."

Izuku looked up. "You...You _are_?"

"Of course! You helped Kacchan and all those other kids! If it weren't for you, then..." Her voice trailed off for a moment, and her eyes widened a little. Then, she recomposed herself and said in a stronger voice, "I-I just hope that you don't do anything like that ever again. I-I understand if you want to be like the characters in your manga and help people in need, but you're just my sweet little boy. You're gonna get hurt."

"Yeah..." Izuku chuckled dryly. "I-I suppose..."

"Just promise me you won't do that again, sweetie."

He stared at his mother for the longest time, and Takeyama's words returned to his mind.

**_"It's like the local economy is entirely dependent on the success of the Shie Hassaikai. You become a criminal, especially one that's affiliated with the Shie Hassaikai, and you get far in life. Farther than you'd get if you got any other job."_**

_"What am I supposed to say?"_ he thought. _"I want to assure her that I won't, but...after what Nishiya-sama just told me, I...I can't just ignore that. A-And what happens if I see another crook harassing someone out in public, with no one else doing a thing about it? I...I can't ignore that either! Plus, who knows what might happen down the road? Maybe the Shie Hassaikai _will _care about a nobody like me landing three of their thugs in a jail cell! But...I really don't wanna worry my own mother anymore... I...I don't wanna bring more stress into her life..."_

"Izuku, sweetie," Inko said, her voice more forceful, "_promise me_ you won't do something very dangerous like that ever again."

Izuku continued to stare at his mother. Reluctance started to flood into his face.

_"But I don't want to be a bystander anymore."_

He forced a smile onto his face as he replied, "I promise."

* * *

"Midoriya, you've got visitors."

Izuku looked at the doorway and watched as Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta stepped into the room, the former two still heavily bandaged, like they had been in a car crash. His lips faintly curled into a frown as the three boys took some seats at his bedside. In his peripheral vision, he could see Inko dozing soundlessly in her chair, her hand still beside the half-finished katsudon box.

"What?" he asked irritably, just as the lethargic nurse closed the door behind Hanta. He looked away from his day-to-day tormentors. "Gonna make fun of me for dressing up in a silly cosplay costume and saving you guys from a criminal who had the upper hand on you?"

"Wow, harsh," Eijiro replied, wincing visibly. His chipped teeth still resembled vicious fangs.

"Come on, Midoriya," Denki said gently. "I thought we were past all of that stuff."

"Yeah," Hanta added. "Lighten up, man."

Izuku looked at the trio of boys with disbelief. "Really? Is that what you think now?"

**_"He probably _knows_ it's shit. He just keeps readin' it because they go hand in hand."_**

_**"Well of course a douchebag knows a fellow douchebag when they see one!"**_

"That we're _past_ that stuff?"

_**"**_**_Hey, you guys! Speak of the devil! It's that wimp Midoriya!"_**

_**"Wow, pathetic! My fucking grandma wouldn't flinch at that!"**_

**_"You're gonna die alone and unfulfilled, Midoriya. Just look at you! The future is as clear as day with you."_**

"After all the crap you put me through, you're just gonna come up to me and say we're _past_ all of that stuff?!" He looked away. "You don't simply get past six months of torture."

Eijiro and Denki looked at each other, and then Denki looked at Hanta, who looked back. As for Eijiro, he looked back at Izuku with pursed lips.

"_Yeah_, about that-" he began slowly.

"What, so you thought you'd come here and-and act like we're buddies? You thought if you did that, all will be forgiven?" Izuku took a deep breath as his green pupils focused on the purple curtains in his room. "Just a couple of days ago, you tore up my manga and called me pathetic. How do you expect to be friends with me after all that?"

"Look, Midoriya, we're sorry about what we did to you-"

"Oh, _now_ you're apologizing. If only it were _sooooooo_ simple." Izuku faintly sniffled. "You made my life a living hell since the start of the school year. I was hoping I'd have a fresh start when I entered high school. But...you guys nearly ruined all of that." He glared at them angrily. "You should be lucky I still decided to save you guys from those crooks, Kirishima! And the same goes for you, Kaminari!"

"Yes, we feel lucky!" Denki exclaimed gratefully. "Look, Midoriya, our asses were being handed to us last night, and you had to have been watching! But instead of turning a blind eye, you...you _saved_ us... And even though you got your own ass kicked, you kept on fighting so we could be safe..."

"The cops told us those guys were wanted for a bunch of crimes," Eijiro added. "Like murder. We...We could've _died_ last night. But you saved our asses! And in doing so, you helped us realize how wrong we were to pick on you! You...You put up a great fight, the kind of fight we could never put up!"

"Oh," Izuku replied with dissatisfaction. "So since I can put up a great fight, that means I have value now. That's nice."

"Hey," Hanta said. "Kirishima and Kaminari told me all about how you took quite the beating but kept on going and never stopped until that big punk was done for. None of us would've been capable of going that far in a fight...well...except for Bakugo, probably-"

"But he still got his ass kicked," added Denki.

"W-Well, n-not really," Eijiro interjected defensively.

Hanta ignored his friends. "W-What I'm trying to say is that, um..." His voice trailed off, and he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "W-Well, um... Uh-"

"We wanna learn some of your moves," completed Eijiro.

The anger vanished from Izuku's face and was immediately replaced with confusion.

"What?" he asked blankly.

"We want you to teach us how to fight like that," Denki replied earnestly. "Wh-When you're all healed up, that is."

Izuku blinked slowly. "You... You guys...want to learn...how to fight like _I_ did?"

"Well, _yeah_!" Eijiro exclaimed enthusiastically. "What you did back there was _so_ fucking badass, man! And you know how things are in this town!"

"If we're gonna get by in a couple more years," Hanta added, "then we gotta learn how to fight fast and hard! And since you clearly got the spirit to take a lot of punches like a boss and still come out on top, well...w-we thought we might as well learn from the best-"

"No," Izuku said.

The three boys were briefly silent. Then, Eijiro asked, "Wh-What?"

"I said _no_." The green-haired boy glowered at his tormentors. "You may think what I did back there was cool, but I only did it because I wanted to protect others. This town's in the midst of a big crime wave, and no one's willing to do a thing about it. The best people can do is watch from the sidelines and hope someone else does something about it. As long as it's not _their_ problem, they are willing to be selfish and save their own hides. And I for one was sick of it, which is why I did what I did last night. I'm not concerned at all about looking cool."

"Says the guy who dressed himself up like a bunny last night," Denki grumbled.

Izuku's scowl became more pronounced. "That was to protect my identity and I was right to do so. Those guys were with the Shie Hassaikai, in case you two didn't notice."

Denki's eyes broadened with shock. "Wait, _what_?"

"For real?" Eijiro asked incredulously, his jagged teeth bared. "Those guys didn't look like Yakuza material!"

"Well, that's what the officer told me." Izuku glanced at his mother, who was still dozing peacefully. "What I did was very, very dangerous. In no way was it _cool_. But I still have no regrets for what I did. For the longest time, I wanted to do the right thing, no matter the cost." He glared at Eijiro. "Just like the characters of the manga you tore up."

"Oh..." The redhead's eyes filled with regret. "Shit, man..."

Izuku clenched his teeth. "You guys wanna know how I was able to keep on going despite being on the verge of death?"

**_"Help!"_**

**_"Calling for help won't do ya any good. As you can see, no one gives a damn."_**

"Take a walk through town." The green-haired boy turned his head away and stared at the purple curtains again. "We're done."

"Oh, come _on_, man!" Hanta exclaimed. "Look, we're sorry for what we did to you, Midoriya!"

"Hey, y-you want us to buy you a new manga?" asked Denki. "L-Look, we'll gladly do it, Midoriya! J-Just tell us the name and-"

"No, come on, guys," Eijiro interrupted suddenly, his expression now soft. He stood up and tapped Denki on the shoulder. "Let's get out of here. I think he's done talking to us."

"B-But Kirishima-!"

"Let's _go_." Eijiro cast a sympathetic look towards Izuku. "We'll check up on Bakugo, see how he's doin'."

Denki and Hanta looked at Izuku for one last time. The boys then stood up from their chairs and followed Eijiro out of the room. The redhead was the last one out, but before he could close the door behind him, he took one last look at Izuku.

"Hey...Midoriya," he said softly.

Izuku didn't respond or even look at the former bully. The green-haired boy could tell Eijiro wanted to continue speaking, but no words came out of his mouth. Instead, the couple of seconds spent in silence were concluded with the soft creak of the door. Once he was sure Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta were gone, Izuku stared at the door.

_"So they wanted to know how to fight like I did..."_ he thought. Then, he scoffed dismissively. _"What do _they _know about wanting to be a hero? They just wanna look cool. That's all. But being a hero is _more_ than just being cool. How can they not understand that?"_ He stared at his bandaged arms. _"They don't really mean what they said back there. They're just embarrassed they got their butts kicked by people bigger than them. They want to save their own reputations at school. That's all they care about."_

Izuku stared at the door again, and he could still feel Eijiro's lingering presence. He could still remember the sympathetic look in his eyes.

_"That's all they care about."_

* * *

"Midoriya, you've got some more visitors."

Izuku smiled as Ochako and Tenya entered the room. Ochako was carrying a newspaper, while Tenya was holding a small stack of books and papers.

"Uraraka!" he greeted. "Iida!"

"Hi, Midoriya," Ochako replied. "How're you feeling?"

Izuku briefly glanced at his arms. "Like I got beaten up really badly..."

"Well, regardless," Tenya said, "it's a relief seeing you in a good state. Everyone else was worried about your well-being." He then glanced at the apathetic nurse and held the door for her. "Allow me, ma'am."

The nurse didn't respond, instead departing into the hallway. Tenya slowly closed the door for her before walking towards the empty table, which Ochako was standing next to.

"Where's your mom, Midoriya?" asked Ochako.

"Oh, she went to work," Izuku replied.

"Oh!" Ochako looked regretful. "Well, when she stops by again, tell her I said hi! She seems like a pretty nice lady, if you don't count how she blew up on you when you first woke up."

"She _is_ nice." The boy smiled fondly. "She works two jobs 24/7 to support us. I...I can't be more thankful for her..."

"Truly an admirable woman," Tenya replied as he set the books and papers on the table. "I can sympathize with that."

Ochako shot him a flat glare. "What're you talking about, Iida? Your family is crazy rich! Well, not Yaomomo rich, but-"

"Much of our wealth has been supplemented by Tensei's job." The class representative crossed his arms. "And he studied very hard to ensure he got a good, stable job in politics. We are all grateful for his hard work."

"Uh, Iida?" Izuku piped up.

Tenya looked at him. "Yes, Midoriya?"

"What's with that stack?"

"Why, these are for you, Midoriya!" With a smile, Tenya gently patted the topmost book on the stack. "You're going to be hospitalized for an undetermined amount of time, so you'll need these to study. Aizawa-sensei will be most displeased if you came back to school unprepared."

Izuku stared at the textbooks and papers blankly, his green eyes seemingly becoming unfocused. This prompted Ochako to slap Tenya on the shoulder.

"You shouldn't have brought those, Iida!" she snapped with a frown that looked more adorable than intimidating. "D'you have any idea what Midoriya-kun's been through?!"

"I am well aware of the circumstances of his hospitalization, Uraraka!"

"Then you shouldn't force this kind of workload on him so soon!"

"I didn't say he had to start now! But one should never mislead themselves into thinking something like a hospitalization will give them the right to ignore their academic duties!"

"Oh, you and your academic duties, Iida!"

"Guys, guys, _guys_!" Izuku exclaimed with his arms carefully raised. "It's alright, really! You don't have to fight over this!"

Ochako and Tenya looked at him for a moment, then they looked at each other with understanding.

"That's true, Midoriya," Tenya replied before bowing his head. "I apologize for my little outburst."

"I'm sorry too, Midoriya-kun," added Ochako. "I hope I didn't upset you already."

"No, not at all."

Izuku stared at them for a couple of moments, and then, he started to sniffle. Ochako and Tenya were quick to notice the small glimmer in his green eyes.

"What's wrong, Midoriya?!" exclaimed Tenya. "Are you not feeling well?! Do you require medical attention?!"

"No, no, I'm fine..." Izuku winced a little as he moved his arm towards his face so he could wipe his eyes. "I'm just... I'm _so_ glad I actually got to have friends like you..." He sniffled again. "I've...I've never had any...friends...for a long time... People who...care about me..." He chuckled. "Even after you invited me to the study group, Uraraka, I kept wondering if you were going to play a prank on me, or if this was all just a dream."

"Yes, you told me that already," Ochako replied, smiling. "But we _really_ care about you, Midoriya-kun. It's no joke, nor is it a dream. And I want you to know that it's not just me and Iida. Yui-chan, Yaomomo, Todoroki, and everyone else care about you. Everyone's texted me and Iida, asking how you were doing."

"They...They _did_?!"

"Of course! Here, lemme show you the conversation I had with Yaomomo and Asui right before we got here..."

She tucked the newspaper underneath her armpit and pulled out her cellphone, which Izuku noticed was not the newest model that everyone else already had. She then scrolled through her screen before finding the correct window.

"Ah, here we are!" Ochako walked up to Izuku and showed him the phone screen. "Look!"

Izuku slightly readjusted himself so he could lean his head forward and read the text conversation.

**Yaoyorozu:** Are you going to see Midoriya again?

**Uraraka:** Yes, of course!

**Uraraka:** Why?

**Yaoyorozu:** We were just there last night, that's all...

**Asui:** Come on, Yaomomo, we need to show him our support!

**Uraraka:** Yeah, Yaomomo! Be more supportive!

**Yaoyorozu:** I know. I was going to tell Uraraka to send him my regards before you interrupted, Asui.

**Asui:** Such a tsundere.

**Uraraka:** LOL. XD

**Yaoyorozu:** What's THAT supposed to mean?

**Asui:** Nothing...

**Yaoyorozu:** I DON'T have a crush on Midoriya, if that's what you're implying! Seriously, you guys...

**Uraraka:** Oh, we believe you.

**Yaoyorozu:** Something tells me you don't.

**Asui:** We do. We believe you don't have a crush on Midoriya specifically.

**Yaoyorozu:** Specifically?

**Uraraka:** I'll send Midoriya your regards, Yaomomo. Don't worry.

**Asui:** Tell him I said hi, Uraraka. And also tell him I'm really grateful he saved your sweet cheeks last night.

**Yaoyorozu:** Same here. The thought of you being in the clutches of those creeps...ugh!

**Asui:** Midoriya's a life-saver, for sure.

**Uraraka:** Awwwww, that's so sweet! Thank you! Don't worry, you guys, I will.

Izuku looked up at her. "Wow..." he said. "I...I can't believe they actually..._care_ that much about me..."

"Why, of course!" Ochako replied as she put away her phone. "What else did you expect from them?"

"Well..." Izuku chuckled a little. "Some harsh criticism from Asui and a long lecture from Yaoyorozu, for starters..."

Ochako tutted and lightly tapped Izuku on the head. "Oh, come _on_, Midoriya! You gotta learn how to trust people more!"

"Well, now I do." The boy looked down at his lap with a fond expression. "I'm...I'm so lucky I got to have kind and caring friends like you... I really, truly feel blessed..."

Ochako's smile widened. "And I am so lucky I found such a determined and passionate guy like you. If it weren't for you, Yui-chan and I would've been..." She fell silent for a moment and shivered audibly. "Those perverted creeps... They were gonna do awful things to us, but thanks to you, they got what they deserved!"

"I agree wholeheartedly," Tenya added. He smiled at Izuku, and the boy noticed the admiration radiating from him. "You surprised me many times yesterday, Midoriya." He paused and pursed his lips. "I must confess, Midoriya; I truly thought you were a lost cause...that you would be nothing more than a burden to society as an adult. Your unhealthy obsession with manga and anime seem to not only confirm my concerns, but compound them."

"So I've noticed..." Izuku replied flatly.

"I still had my doubts when you arrived at Yaoyorozu's study group. You suggested that anime movie when we wanted to watch something at the theater. I thought you still weren't taking your academics seriously."

Tenya paused again and winced. Izuku's eyebrows shot up with concern, and he wondered if the class representative had been afflicted with a stomachache or something.

"But I must say," the bespectacled teenager continued, "after watching that movie...what was it, _My Hero Academia_?"

"Our _Hero Academia_," Izuku and Ochako corrected at the same time.

"Yes, yes that's right. Anyway, after I watched that movie with you..." Tenya paused yet again, and he looked like he was going to regret his next words. "I _will_ admit I was able to forge a small degree of understanding with you."

Ochako beamed at her bespectacled friend with pride, while Izuku sat up a little more on his bed.

"_Really_?" the green-haired boy asked.

_**"I thought it was average at best."**_

"You said you thought it was average!"

"That was my initial reaction," replied Tenya. "But I guess, deep down, I felt a spark. I didn't know what it was, but it felt pleasant. I assumed it was the same kind of spark you'd feel whenever you'd read one of your manga books, or watch an episode of an anime series."

_**"Don't worry about Iida. He enjoyed the movie."**_

Shoto's words returned to Izuku's mind as he tried to process Tenya's admission.

"That's called _enjoyment_, silly," Ochako said teasingly. "Jeez, Iida, are you such a lifeless robot that you can't even truly understand the very feeling of enjoyment?!"

"I _do_ find enjoyment, Uraraka, but usually in the pages of a history book, not in an anime film!" Tenya then settled down and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I came to realize what I felt in that theater when I heard you were hospitalized. Uraraka told me everything, including how you were dressed in cosplay."

Izuku blushed with embarrassment. "I-I _had_ to protect my identity, Iida," he replied. "I-I didn't know what would happen next."

"I do not fault you for that, Midoriya. You did what you had to do." Tenya flashed a small smile. "When I heard the whole story from Uraraka, I came to a startling realization."

Izuku looked up. "And that is?"

"That sympathizing with, and identifying with, the characters in your manga, especially the ones in _Our Hero Academia_, give you purpose, a drive, one that you can't muster in any other circumstance. And it was this very drive that gave you the strength to carry on in a brutal fight, a fight that would decide the fate of Uraraka, Kodai, and even Bakugo and his friends. It's...It's a strength I wish I could have..." Tenya suddenly closed his eyes and clenched his fists so tightly they began to shake. "I...I underestimated you, Midoriya, and I completely dismissed your passion because I had a horribly generalized view of it. A horrible, generalized, _childish_ view... I've misled myself, and for that..."

He suddenly bowed his head, startling Izuku.

"I apologize for my remarks of bad faith. It was wrong of me to think you couldn't accomplish anything in life. And now, I want to let you know that I have utmost respect for you! I truly do!"

Izuku's lower jaw dropped open. _"Am I hearing this right?"_ he thought. _"Iida's actually..._apologizing_ to me for what he's told me in the past...? This...This is unreal, right? There's no way this is actually- Yeah, you know what? I'm gonna just accept it from now on. There's no point questioning anything anymore."_

The green-haired boy gave Tenya a smile and replied, "Wow... Thank you, Iida. I appreciate the apology, but...I honestly don't blame you for thinking that way."

Tenya raised his head with surprise. "You...You _don't_?"

"Well, yeah." Izuku briefly gazed at Ochako. "Uraraka told me all about why you don't like otaku in the first place."

"She did?"

Tenya shot an accusatory glare at Ochako, wearing a mixture of shock and humiliation. In response, the chestnut-haired girl looked away and whistled innocently. Then, Tenya looked back at Izuku, and the green-haired boy could see the faint blush blossoming on his cheeks.

"In hindsight," he said, "I suppose my rationale for disliking otaku was quite immature and uncouth of me..."

"You care very, very much about your brother, Iida," replied Izuku, "and I understand that. If I had a brother who'd look out for me and care for me, then I'd treat discussions about him as a sensitive topic."

"Still..." Tenya forlornly glanced at the floor. "I should not have applied my beliefs to you specifically, Midoriya..."

"Well, as long as we've both come to an understanding of each other, then I don't think we will have any more problems down the road, Iida."

Tenya smiled. "I'm...I'm thankful...to be in the presence of someone who is so understanding and compassionate..."

"Oh, please! Y-You don't have to be so formal about this!" The other boy gave his bespectacled friend a kind smile. "Just go a little more easy, okay?"

"And cut Hatsume some slack, okay Iida?" Ochako chimed in.

At the mention of the name, Tenya glared at the door, a dark frown now appearing upon his face. Izuku was surprised by the sudden shift of the class representative's mood.

"I will not," he replied stubbornly. "She still defiled a treasured piece of Japanese history, one that my brother worked so hard to attain. She has no respect whatsoever for our forefathers!"

"Oh, you gotta be _kidding_ me, Iida!" She crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks. "You're willing to change your opinion of Midoriya-kun, but when Hatsume is concerned, you put your shields back up!"

"There _is_ one difference between Midoriya and Hatsume, one that separates my opinions of their character." Tenya glared at Ochako. "He is willing to stand up for what he believes in when the situation calls for it, all while trying his very best to respect others. _She_ has been completely consumed by her obsession and willingly allows herself to be so!"

"But didn't she try to apologize to you earlier, Iida?"

"What she did cannot simply be rectified by a mere apology! Her so-called cosmetic touches have completely scarred the samurai suit for the rest of its life! You don't see Midoriya trying to make us read his manga, am I right?!"

"Oh, come on," Izuku said in a half-whine. "Don't drag me into this!"

"Yeah, Iida," replied Ochako. "You take it easy. You're bothering Midoriya-kun."

"_You're_ the one who started the conversation about Hatsume in the first place."

She narrowed her eyes menacingly. "Because _you're_ being a little contradictory right now, Iida!"

"Alright, that's enough!" Izuku shouted, startling the other two teenagers. "I-If you guys are gonna keep arguing and not just save this for another time, th-then I-I want you to leave!"

Ochako and Tenya looked at one another, then at Izuku; both now looked sorrowful.

"Sorry, Midoriya-kun," Ochako said.

"I deeply apologize as well," added Tenya as he bowed his head again. "Once again, my behavior was improper."

"Just agree to disagree, that's all," Izuku said. Then, he finally noticed the newspaper tucked in Ochako's arm. "Wh-What is _that_, Uraraka?"

"Oh!" Ochako looked at the newspaper and grinned from ear to ear. "I forgot about this! Everyone in town is talking 'bout you, Midoriya!"

Izuku's eyes widened. "Th-They are?!"

"Mm-hm!"

The chestnut-haired girl showed the headline to the boy, her grin broadening. He read it closely and carefully, and by the time he was finished, he felt a little lighter in his bed. His mind filled with various thoughts about the past few hours: the statement he gave to Nishiya and Takeyama; the promise he made to his mother about not risking his life again; and the visit he got from Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta, begging him to teach them some of his so-called moves.

Ochako lowered the newspaper so she could read it from above. "Pretty neat, huh?" she asked excitedly.

Izuku looked at the newspaper again and nodded slowly. "_Yeah_..."

Boldly displayed on the cover page was a sketch of a caped hero completely enveloped in shadow, standing mightily on a rooftop. This hero was easily distinguishable with his rabbit-like "ears". Below the sketch was the headline, and Izuku felt a newfound enthusiasm radiating from its words.

**_MASKED HERO NABS THUGS! 7 CHILDREN SAVED!_**

* * *

**A/N:** And that is it for this chapter! It's the shortest chapter in this fic thus far, but that doesn't mean not a lot happened here! Here, Izuku is starting to feel the fallout of his heroic debut, his old bullies are now trying to be cool with him, and his relationship with Tenya had just vastly improved.

As for the absence of IzuMina and Kacchako scenes, I do apologize for that, but I didn't feel like it was pertinent material for this specific chapter, and for good reason. Obviously, Ochako is still on bad terms with Katsuki at this point, but Mina, well, I also have a pretty good reason on why she's not in this chapter...which I won't divulge just yet. You'll just have to keep reading to find out.

I'd like to thank the following for reviewing the previous chapter:

**-AllAcid (guest reviewer):** Ask and you shall receive! :D But can you tell me what your thoughts were on the previous chapter? Was there anything you liked? Anything you didn't like? Any questions or other comments that you would like to share about this fic? I need more specifics if I'm going to keep your anticipation for future chapters.

**-MarvelNinja10:**

**1)** Oh, really? I thought you'd be making a different admission, but that's alright nonetheless. I understand completely. Everyone wants to be like the people they see on TV; you obviously had superheroes to look up to! I have absolutely no qualms about that. I hope you'll be able to identify with this interpretation of Izuku even more as the story goes along!

**2)** Do you have any specific thoughts about the previous chapter? I'm going to need comments related to the material in the fic itself so I can keep dishing out these awesome chapters for you! :D

**-Karsaje:** Yes, Mina does not have any pink skin, obviously. But I sort of made up for it by making her a ganguro, and if you don't know what that is, it's a bit of an old fashion trend in Japan where teenage girls get heavy tans and contrasting makeup, and dress up in flashy clothing. If you're still confused about the description, this style is more commonly called "gyaru" in anime and manga circles, but deeper research has led me to believe that "ganguro" is a more accurate term.

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	8. Midoriya on the Case!

Silence fell upon the classroom the moment Izuku stepped inside with both of his arms covered in casts. He stared warily at his classmates as they stared back. First, he spotted Tenya, Shoto, Momo, and Mezo; Tenya had a look of pride, Momo was looking at him with a tiny hint of concern, and Shoto and Mezo simply stared blankly. Then, he noticed Eijiro, Denki, Hanta, Yuga, and Mina; Eijiro had a sympathetic stare, the other boys had surprising looks of admiration, and Mina gave him a quick look of recognition before gazing absentmindedly at the surface of her desk.

And finally, Izuku noticed Katsuki. The ashy-blond boy still had faint bruises adorning his face, and his arm was in a sling while his leg was in a cast like Izuku's. A crutch was resting beside his desk, and Katsuki was clearly trying to avoid ever looking at it.

"Welcome back, Midoriya," a familiar voice droned. Izuku squeaked and stared at the speaker in the front of the room.

"H-H-Hi, A-Aizawa-s-sensei!" he stuttered.

Aizawa blinked slowly for a moment before replying, "I understand it's been a week since you were hospitalized, but just because you were given an opportunity to slack off, it doesn't mean you have my blessing to skip out on your schoolwork and other responsibilities. I hope, for your sake, you were able to study during your..._unexpected_ time off from school."

"D-Do-Don't worry, A-Aizawa-s-sensei! I-Iida helped me out with that..."

Tenya beamed with pride at the reference, but Aizawa merely blinked again.

"Really now?" the teacher replied. "Well then, surely it won't be a burden for you if you took the pop quiz with the others. Or am I mistaken in my assumptions?"

Izuku gulped as he stared into Aizawa's sharp, judgmental eyes. As usual, they left him powerless, unable to resist, that is unless he wanted to a death wish. But he didn't, so Izuku recomposed himself and stood at attention.

"N-N-No, Aizawa-sensei..."

"Good. Now, be seated."

The stern, intimidating teacher turned his back on him, prompting Izuku to start walking towards his seat. But before he could reach it, he heard Aizawa calling out to him again.

"Oh, and Midoriya?"

Izuku's skin crawled as he hesitantly looked over his shoulder. "Y-_Yes_, Aizawa-sensei...?"

Aizawa was busy scribbling on the board as he replied, "What you did last week was foolish, not to mention suicidal."

The boy looked down at the floor with embarrassment. "I...I understand, sensei-"

"_But_," the black-haired man interrupted as he continued scribbling, "you also saved the lives of several students from an unknown fate. You did something that only a few people here would fantasize about. For what I presume to be the first time in your life, you are the topic of many a discussion in the hallways. Word of your..._heroics_ is spreading like wildfire."

Izuku couldn't see his teacher's face, so he could only imagine the slightly proud expression he was wearing as he spoke his next four words.

"You should be proud."

Izuku's eyes widened with disbelief, and he glanced at the rest of his class. All of the students had their eyes on him, and while they were all very likely thinking different thoughts about the situation, he could sense the one emotion that united them in this moment.

Wonder.

"Th-Th-Thank you, s-s-sensei..." Izuku replied, struggling to hold back tears.

"Don't thank me," Aizawa said, the sternness more evident in his voice. "Now sit down. Don't make me tell you again."

* * *

Izuku stepped into the cafeteria for the second time.

It was still like entering a foreign country. Students filled the tables to the brim, chatting animatedly with each other and fully indulging themselves in today's gossip. There was no table in sight that didn't have at least four students sitting by it. A strange but surprisingly pleasant combination of multiple fragrances hung in the air. The clean floor gleamed freshly and spectacularly from the bright sunlight entering through the windows.

He scanned the tables situated closest to him, one by one. First, there was the table hosting the boys' basketball team, which included the foul-mouthed Yosetsu Awase, the calm and collected Sen Kaibara, and the approachable chatterbox Kosei Tsuburaba. Then, there was the table hosting the Literature Club, led by the massive but eloquent Jurota Shishida. Then, there was the table hosting the Manga & Anime Club, which included the hyperactive Mei Hatsume, the submissive Nirengeki Shoda, the quaint Manzo Fukidashi, the half-Japanese exchange student Paula Tsunotori, and the still-faceless Toru Hagakure. Finally, there was the table hosting the seniors, including the popular Mirio Togata and Nejire Hado.

At first, he couldn't decipher what any of them were saying through the racket. But then, he started making out a single word their conversations had in common...in this case, a name.

"-Midoriya-"

"-Midoriya-"

"-Midoriya-"

"-Midoriya-"

"Midoriya!"

The tables closest to Izuku became deathly silent, followed by the rest, row after row after row. It was like a tide coming in. The boy's heart stopped when all of the eyes in the cafeteria, the staff and janitor included, directed themselves at his direction. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, making it glisten from exposure to the bright sunlight.

_"Holy whoa,"_ he thought. _"Everyone's looking at me! What do I do?! I...I've never been the center of this much attention before! I don't know how to handle it! What do I do?!"_

"Midoriya!"

Izuku shook his head and stared into the chocolate-brown eyes of Ochako Uraraka.

_"Oh! I'm saved!"_

"Come on, Midoriya," Tenya said as he joined Izuku's side. "Let's continue this conversation elsewhere-"

"OHMYGOSHICANTBELIEVEITYOUREIZUKUMIDORIYA!" a loud, energetic voice spouted in one breath. Before Izuku knew it, he was almost tackled by a blur of pink. He could hear Tenya gagging behind him in a mixture of surprise and disdain. "WHATWASITLIKEFIGHTINGTHOSETHUGSWASITLIKEFIGHTINGASUPERVILLAINORWHATWAITAMINUTEIGOTTAGETOUTAPIECEOFPAPERANDWRITEALLTHISDOWNAND-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Izuku exclaimed. "S-Settle down, settle down!"

The speaker obeyed, giving Izuku a chance to identify them. Almost unsurprisingly, it was none other than Mei Hatsume, whose yellow contact irises, designed to look like camera lenses, were the first things that highlighted her eccentric and unconventional appearance. Then, there was her salmon-pink hair, arranged in dreadlocks, and her shoes, which looked too big for her.

"What do you want, Hatsume?" Tenya asked, his lips curled in a tight frown and his eyeglasses glinting ominously. "Can't you see you're bothering Midoriya?"

"Huh, really?" Mei made a quick scan of Izuku. "He certainly doesn't seem to mind." Then, she leaned her head towards his. "Tell me, is it true you wore a Yamikumo cosplay while you battered those criminals into pulp?!"

But Izuku couldn't give her a straight and comprehensible answer. Instead, he was sputtering out of embarrassment, for Mei's head was dangerously close to his. If one were to push their heads any closer, they would kiss straight on the lips. What made matters worse was that Mei seemed totally oblivious to it all.

"Ah, come ON, Midoriya!" she cried, her smile widening with hunger. "Gimme all the juicy details! I wanna know how you braved through the obstacles and came out on top, like a true Yamikumo!"

"Oh, come on, Hatsume..." Nirengeki said sheepishly. The small boy looked like he wanted to get out of the table, but he couldn't muster the courage to do so. "I don't think Midoriya wants to answer those questions right now..."

"I agree," Paula piped up. "Maybe you should give Midoriya some space first."

Mei flicked her head at her fellow club members, her yellow eyes gleaming. "But I _gotta_ know, guys! I heard Kenranzaki say that Hado said that Tsuburaba said that Shiozaki said that Tokage said that Midoriya was wearing a neat-o Yamikumo costume and acting all Yamikumo-like! I really, really, _really_ wanna know if it's true!" She looked back at Izuku, her face radiating absolute enthusiasm. "So tell me, Midoriya! Were you pretending to be a superhero or what?!"

"W-We-Well..." Izuku managed to blurt, as his peripheral vision caught all of the other eyes in the cafeteria still staring at him almost expectantly. "Y-You see, Ha-Hatsume... I..." He gulped. "I, uh..."

His voice trailed off, which elicited a small uproar from the other students.

"Oh, come ooooon, Midoriya!" Yosetsu Awase cried.

"Tell us how you kicked the asses of those losers!" Kosei Tsuburaba called.

"Alright, calm down, ya guys!" Mirio Togata called, waving his hands with a nervous smile, even as his own face radiated curiosity as well. "Let's settle down here!"

"Is it true Bakugo got his ass kicked?" a voice asked.

The sudden question provoked shocked and energetic whispers among the other students, which prompted to Izuku look at a table in the far corner of the cafeteria, where the voice came from. He recognized the speaker as Hitoshi Shinso, one of Katsuki's friends, who was wearing an inquisitive look. In the distance, Izuku heard the legs of a chair grinding against the floor, followed by stomping footsteps that were fading away, as well surprised squeaks from students. He didn't want to see who was marching away, for he didn't want to make things worse for himself.

"Y-You see..." the green-haired boy replied nervously, "I, uh-"

"Come on, Midoriya!" Mei interrupted excitedly. "Enough dilly-dallying! Give us everything! Give us- OOF!"

He was cut off when a hand latched itself around the back of Mei's collar. Before the ditzy girl could do anything, she was half-dragged away. Izuku expected to see Tenya clutching her collar, but instead, it was...

"Don't you see you're bothering Midoriya, Hatsume?" Ochako asked, her voice surprisingly deep and menacing. "So leave him alone and ask your questions another time, when he's clearly much more comfortable." She glared at the rest of the cafeteria. "The same goes for the rest of you!"

"B-But I wanted to-" began Mei pleadingly.

"You've done enough damage for today, Hatsume," Tenya interrupted. "Now leave. I don't want you harassing Midoriya."

Mei stared at Tenya, and Izuku noticed the look of confusion appear on her face as she scanned the class representative from head to toe.

"Do I know you...?" she asked.

Tenya's face turned as red as a tomato. "Wh-What?! D-Do you _know me_?! Do you _know me_?! Y-You mean to tell me you don't _remember_ me?!"

Mei stared at him inquisitively. "Kinda..."

"Y-You...You swindled me out of my samurai suit, the suit my dear brother worked so hard to acquire, and turned it into a-a horrific robot! You completely defiled its status as a relic of Japanese history! And you had the gall to return it to me, claiming you performed cosmetic changes on it! _Cosmetic changes_! More like plundered it of its true value like the most deplorable and unforgivable of barbarians! And after all the trouble you went through trying to apologize to me, you say you've _forgotten_ about me?!"

Mei scanned Tenya from head to toe again, and slower this time. At first, Izuku thought she finally remembered the class representative, and even saw a certain gleam flashing across her eyes. But then...

"Nope," she replied cheekily. "That doesn't ring a bell."

Small bouts of laughter swept over the cafeteria, causing the class representative's face to turn red. Izuku felt a pang of sympathy for his newfound friend.

"Y-You...You are truly a-a madwoman!" Tenya snapped, his eyes wide and manic. "A _madwoman_! And to think my friends think so highly of you and your club!"

"Really now?!" Mei's eyes started to shine with amazement. "Does that mean you and your friends wanna join the Manga & Anime Club?!"

"I'll join when you apologize to me for ruining that suit, _and_ when pigs start flying!"

"Sooooo...I'm gonna take it as a no?"

"Yes, that's a no!"

The soft and almost indiscernible laughter resumed again. But, to Izuku and Ochako's shared surprise, Mei continued to smile.

"Okay!" Then, compounding the pair's surprise even more, she reached a hand in her pocket, procured a small card, and gallantly flashed it in front of Tenya's face. "Here. My business card. Just in case you change your mind-"

The laughter intensified, and Tenya heard it this time. With clenched teeth, Tenya angrily swatted her hand, knocking the card out of her grip. She watched with surprise as it fluttered to the floor.

"I don't need your card," he replied. "We're done here."

"Ooh, wait, wait a minute!" Mei quickly rushed forward, grabbed Izuku's arm, and held it tightly to her chest. "I still have a whole lotta questions I wanna ask you! Like, how did it feel, cosplaying as Yamikumo and beating up those crooks? Did you feel your inner Quirk bottling up inside? What was it like, getting punched?"

She continued on and on and on, but Izuku couldn't hear her. Instead, his eyes were the widest they had ever been. His green pupils were dilated as they focused on her surprisingly large chest. His cast-encased arm was tucked nicely in the valley between her...her...her...

"Midoriya!"

Ochako's voice, coming from a long distance, was the last thing he heard before he blacked out.

* * *

"Where... Where _am_ I...?"

"In the nurse's office."

Izuku's eyes shot open, and he found himself back on a bed, but this time, it wasn't in the hospital. The first person that he saw was a short, elderly woman with gray hair styled into a netted bun.

"Oh," he said in a low voice of embarrassment. "H-Hey, Shuzenji-san..."

"Really now, Midoriya," the nurse said, turning around to reveal a cup of water in her hand. "First, problems with bullies, then a fistfight with crooks in the street, and now fainting in the cafeteria. It's almost like you and hospital rooms have a symbiotic relationship with one another."

"Fainting in the cafeteria...? Is _that_ what happened...?"

"You betcha." Shuzenji approached his bedside and showed him the cup. "Now drink up. Cold water should get you going again."

Izuku stared at the cup for a moment before taking it. "Th-Thank you, Shuzenji-san..."

"Don't thank me, Midoriya," Shuzenji replied as he started drinking. "Thank your friends."

The green-haired boy lowered the cup. "Friends?"

"Mm-hm. Uraraka-chan, Iida-kun, and Kirishima-kun. They were the ones who carried you here." The nurse hobbled over to her little desk and sat down to scribble something down on a clipboard, which held a small piece of yellow paper. "You know, I'm actually very happy for you, Midoriya-kun. In all the months I've known you, I knew you never had any friends to rely on. But the kids who took you in, my, they were worried about you. 'Specially that Uraraka girl." She looked over her shoulder at Izuku. "They _are_ your friends, right?"

Izuku blinked twice with surprise. Then, he gazed down at the plastic cup, which was still half-full, and smiled softly.

"Yes, they are..."

"Then I'm glad." Shuzenji started scribbling again. "At least you won't have anymore problems with that horrible Bakugo boy."

Upon hearing Katsuki's name, Izuku's head perked up.

"Wait a minute, you said _Kirishima_ brought me here?"

* * *

Izuku stepped out of the nurse's office and was immediately greeted with the sight of Ochako and Tenya, who were both deep in conversation. Upon hearing the door close behind Izuku, Ochako and Tenya faced him, upon which relieved and beaming expressions filled their faces.

"Midoriya!" Ochako cried happily.

"H-Hey, Uraraka-san..." Izuku replied, his face slightly pink.

"So you're feeling better?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Good!" Tenya said with his hands on his hips. "I was rather worried you were discharged from the hospital prematurely! That shady vixen." A dark expression clouded his face. "I should've known Hatsume's uncouth behavior would lead to an incident such as this!"

"Oh come _on_, Iida!" Ochako exclaimed. "I'm sure she didn't mean it! I mean, didn't you see her face as soon as Midoriya went on his knees?"

"She was only upset her ridiculous questions have gone unanswered by Midoriya! And don't defend her, Uraraka! I _know_ you've developed your own reservations about her behavior!"

"W-Well, I-I'll admit her enthusiasm was overwhelming Midoriya-kun-"

"Speaking of which," Tenya interrupted, "we should steer him clear of Hatsume whenever we see her in the vicinity! We can't afford to have his mind further damaged by her manipulations!"

"It's okay, guys," Izuku interjected. "I'm...I'm fine! It's just, well..." He tried to rub the back of his neck, but realized his arm was still covered in a cast. "I've never been the center of that much attention before... That's all..."

Ochako stared at him sympathetically. "Well, I think I can relate to that," she said. "I mean, you haven't had any friends until last week and now you're the newest star of the school. That's quite a leap in popularity, Midoriya-kun...although I wouldn't say it's unjustified..."

_"The newest star of the school, huh...?"_ Izuku thought, as he stared at the floor. _"Well...I suppose it isn't all _that _bad..."_

Just then, he remembered what Shuzenji told him and blurted out, "I-Is Kirishima here?"

"What does Kirishima have to do with any of this?" Tenya asked.

"The nurse told me he helped you guys bring me here."

Ochako shot Tenya a flat look before replying, "Yeah, he did. He was pretty worried about you. I was so surprised by that too, because I know how much of a wannabe he is. But he left a minute after we brought you here." She then raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

**_"What you did back there was _so_ fucking badass, man! And you know how things are in this town!"_**

Izuku stared past Ochako and Tenya, his gaze directed further down the hallway. He saw a few students loitering around there, but none of them were Eijiro. He continued staring, as if expecting the redhead to appear at any moment, but he eventually shook off that feeling and looked back at his friends.

"Nothing..." he replied. "I'm...I'm just curious, that's all..."

* * *

"Alright, ladies! Let's get movin'! We don't wanna waste those muscles! Go, go, go!"

Ignoring the masculine clamor filling the boys' changing room, Izuku swallowed the spit that had been welling up inside his mouth. Then, with a trembling hand, he approached the towering, muscular man wearing the red-and-white uniform.

"U-Ummm..." he stuttered. "K-Ka-Kan-se-sen-sensei...?"

The man glared down at him with a razor-sharp gaze, an animal-like huff, and a nasty scowl. It almost reminded Izuku of the muscular man he apprehended last week.

"What?" he asked gruffly.

Izuku's hand continued to tremble as he showed him the yellow slip. The man continued to scowl as he plucked the piece of paper out of his hand and read it. Then, he subtly peered over the paper to examine Izuku's arm casts.

"Fine," he finally said. "If that's what Shuzenji says, then I have no choice."

Izuku struggled to contain a sigh of relief. "Th-Th-Thank you, K-Ka-Kan-sensei-"

"Don't thank me." The man stuffed the slip into his pocket. "After the stunt you pulled off last week, Midoriya, I'd expect nothing less from you."

Izuku looked down at the floor with embarrassment. At that moment, his teacher spoke again, having seemingly sensed the green-haired boy's reaction.

"But that was some impressive use of your muscles. I can't say your..._crude_ exercise efforts were wasted."

The boy looked up with shock. _"Did...Did Sekijiro Kan just..._praise _me...?"_ he thought.

"Don't think you're off the hook, though, Midoriya," Kan continued. "Your legs are still intact. I expect you to exercise 'em in your free time, once you're sure your arms will not impede your progress. It wouldn't be appropriate for a P.E. teacher to allow their students to slack off."

"Y-Yes, Ka-Kan-sensei!" Izuku exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.

Kan stared at Izuku for a moment, his look bordering between strange, undeserved admiration and complete, unabashed disapproval. Then, he turned around and walked outside, leaving Izuku standing in the hallway, soaking in the words he had just heard from his P.E. teacher.

Once he fully processed what just happened, Izuku walked over to his locker. However, just as he was about to put in the combination for his lock, he heard a familiar drawling voice.

"Well, look who it is..."

Izuku pursed his lips and rested his head against his locker with disbelief. _"And to think I thought I'd be done with this..."_

He felt someone looming beside him and looked across his shoulder. Standing there was Neito Monoma, whose clear-blue eyes were shining with a kind of pompous malice that Izuku could only attribute to the slick-haired boy. He rested his left arm against Izuku's locker, barring him from access.

"You may think you're at the top of the world because you beat up a bunch of street thugs, otaku," Neito said, "and you may be the talk of this school, but _I_ know better than that." He leaned his head in, causing Izuku's skin to crawl. "You're still the extra who cries over worthless manga and pines for a future that is only a product of his delusions."

Izuku gulped and looked around to see if Tenya or any of his other friends from Momo's manor were in close proximity.

"Ah, don't think about looking for that pesky class rep of yours," said Neito, his voice now a sinister hiss. "He just left the room. It's just you and me..." He patted the locker. "And this locker."

Izuku quickly mustered up his courage. "Leave me alone, Monoma," he replied in a shaky voice.

But Neito continued to grin malevolently. "You're just lucky you managed to get out of that alive. But I imagine you were crying and writhing the whole way. In fact, I bet that's why you dressed yourself up in that ridiculous outfit, if the rumors are indeed true. You probably knew you, the weak and worthless otaku, would never hold up in an actual fight, so all you did was delude yourself into thinking you were a character from one of your childish storybooks."

"They're _not_ storybooks, Monoma."

"Oh, forgive me! Your childish, low-quality storybooks."

Izuku clenched his fists tightly, and he felt anger coursing through his veins. His entire body began to quake, which Neito noticed, but he continued to smile.

"Ahhhhh, so you _still_ can't handle your reality being popped like a lil' kiddie's balloon, can you? You're _sooooo_ caught up in your delusions that you can't bear to have a healthy and strong-minded guy like me poke holes in their logic. But you can't fight me. You can't do a thing about what I have to say. Ohhhhh, _nooooo_. After all..." Neito bared his teeth nastily. "You're not wearing your stupid little costume."

"No," Izuku replied angrily. "I'm at _school_. I can't fight you at school because I don't wanna get _expelled_. Now, can I get into my locker, Monoma? Please?"

But Neito pressed on. "But I bet you _still_ wouldn't fight me if we weren't at school. Not without your costume."

Izuku stifled a laugh. He couldn't imagine someone like Neito Monoma, the big-mouthed, stuck-up narcissist in the entire school, to hold his own in a fight.

"_Nooooo_," continued Neito. "You're still an otaku who can't handle the real world. You're no hero. Just someone who had a freak stroke of luck."

"Why're you even talking to me like this?" Izuku asked. "If it weren't for me, Kacch- Bakugo would be injured, or worse."

"Yes, and now he has to live with that." Neito's grin turned into a scowl. "Beaten up bad in the streets, saved by a stupid otaku, and on top of all that, missing out on the most important game of his life and costing our school's chances at the championship tournament. Yeah, he sure is grateful for your help."

In a brief moment, Izuku recalled how Katsuki had been surprisingly quiet and lethargic throughout the day.

"And because of that," Neito continued, "_someone_ has to step up and continue where he left off."

"Left off? Left off at _what_?"

"Showing people their rightful place..." Without warning, Neito grabbed the collar of Izuku's shirt, drawing out a terrified squeak from the boy. "And seeing you're Bakugo's favorite, I think I'll start with you-"

He was cut off when a hand grabbed his shoulder. "Alright, Monoma," a familiar voice snarled. "Fuck off."

Izuku gasped upon seeing Eijiro Kirishima standing behind Neito. The blond looked over his shoulder and scowled nastily.

"Oh, come _on_, Kirishima!" Neito snapped. "You can't _possibly_ be standing up for this loser-"

"Well, I am," Eijiro interrupted. "Now lay off him, or I'm gonna make sure you regret it."

Neito gritted his teeth at the redhead. Then, he gave Izuku a deathly stare before releasing him.

"Don't think this is over," he said in warning. "You know I'm right."

With that, Neito marched away, and Izuku watched as he joined Hitoshi Shinso and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu. Once the three boys exited the changing room, along with a couple of others, Izuku looked at Eijiro hesitantly. The redhead was staring back at him, unsure of what to say.

"Th-Thanks..." Izuku finally said.

"D-Don't mention it..." Eijiro replied. Both boys fell silent again, and after a while, the redhead started walking away. "W-Well, I'll be leaving now-"

"Wait, Kirishima."

Eijiro looked over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

Izuku was staring at the floor, reminiscing. _"Eijiro Kirishima," _he thought._ "This guy... This guy in front of me, who saved me from a bully...is the same guy who t__ormented me ever since I entered high school. He's the same guy who made my life miserable for months... And one moment of heroism..._ One _moment of heroism i__s all it took to change his opinion of me...? _Why_...?"_

He looked up at the redhead determinedly. "Why're you doing this?" he asked. "Why're you so nice to me now?"

Eijiro scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "W-Well..." he replied, but his voice trailed off.

Izuku narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "Don't think this'll make me wanna teach you some of my so-called _moves_. I am not gonna bury the hatchet and give you that reward, Kirishima. It doesn't work that way."

The redhead slowly lowered his arm. "I...I didn't ask for anything in return, Midoriya..."

"Then tell me why, Kirishima. Why...Why're you being so nice to me?"

"I-It's like wh-what I said back i-in the hospital! T-T-To think the guy who I thought was a-a loser was capable of beating bigger, buffer guys up, it...it's _astounding_! You've got strength, Midoriya, a lot of it...and it's admirable! It's badass! It's-" He looked like he was about to say something, but the redhead seemed to reconsider this and said in an improvisational manner, "I-It's _manly_..."

"Manly, huh?"

Izuku began to flash back to all of the times he overheard Eijiro gushing passionately about manliness. He made it sound like it was some unattainable ideal that he was striving for with all his heart. With narrowing eyes, the boy looked at his locker and started putting in the combination for his lock.

"Let me tell you something, Kirishima," he said. His voice was quaking with soft but menacing anger, which Eijiro seemed to sense. "_Real_ men do not pick on people who they think are weaker and more vulnerable than themselves. They do not make people's lives absolutely miserable, day in and day out. They do not make their victims fear walking to school and crossing paths with them. And most of all, they don't simply stand by when someone's in trouble. They help them. They make them smile. They make them feel like everything's gonna be okay."

He finished punching in the combination and opened his locker. He stared inside it and noticed the Yamikumo costume he subconsciously brought along to school. It was no longer the tattered mess it was last week, for he had his mother sew it up with all her effort and what spare time she had in the day. For a moment, Izuku could almost imagine Katsuki, Eijiro, and their cronies ganging up on him from behind, jeering at him and mocking him for bringing along his cosplay.

Taking a deep breath, Izuku reached a hand inside the locker as best as he could, and procured a yellow notepad. Then, he looked back at the real Eijiro, who was staring at him regretfully.

"That is what a _real_ man does, Kirishima," he said. "That is why I did what I did. But don't think this one incident mends things between us. Just last week, I feared you. And now, I still am suspicious of you. How exactly am I supposed to get over everything that you did to me so easily?"

"I...I don't know, man..." Eijiro replied. "All I can say is...I'm so sorry for what I did to you, Midoriya... For everything..."

"Yeah, well..." Izuku shut his locker with a resonating thud. "Sorry's not gonna take back all the months I spent in total fear and distress. Sorry's not gonna bring back the manga you tore up in front of me."

"Midoriya-"

"I don't need you to be nice to me, Kirishima. I appreciate the thought, but..." Izuku gazed at his locker forlornly. "That's not gonna be enough to change a damn thing."

"Then what _is_ enough, Midoriya?! What do _you_ consider enough?" Eijiro walked up to Izuku, but stopped midway. "Dude, you...you saved my _ass_ back then, and...and you have _no idea_ how grateful I am! D-D'you have any idea how shocked I was when I learned who those guys really were?! What they were actually capable of?! T-That fight, man...it was an eye-opener for me! And now, I wanna take back everything I said and did to you, I really, _really_ do! But...how am I supposed to do that if you won't give me a place to start?!"

Izuku suddenly glared at the redhead, silencing him. "You want a place to start?" he asked. Then, he turned his back on the former bully and started walking away. "Leave me alone..."

_"I shouldn't be saying those things to him,"_ he thought immediately afterward. _"It sounds like he really wants to change. He sounds sincere. But...then again..."_

**_"What the _hell_?! HAHAHA! That's fucking _hilarious_!"_**

_**"He probably **_**knows**_** it's shit. He just keeps readin' it because they go hand in hand."**_

_**"Wow, pathetic! My fucking grandma wouldn't flinch at that!"**_

Izuku stopped at the doorway of the changing room._ "He can't just say he's sorry and do a couple of favors for me. That is _not_ enough for a sincere apology. What he needs...is another eye-opener. Something that'll help him see the world as I see it...and truly understand it..."_

**_"We wanna learn some of your moves."_**

_"Huh... Maybe teaching him how and why I fought the way I did would be- no, no, NO! I'm NOT gonna indulge in that! I promised Shimura-san! I'm not gonna strive for a silly and unrealistic goal and treat reality like a joke! No! I gotta take my life seriously! I gotta-"_

His thoughts were cut off when two boys passed by him. He quickly recognized the curly purple hair and shorter stature, and the slicked, raven-black hair and pointed nose.

"You're an idiot if you think it'll work out for you, Mineta," the black-haired boy said.

"But _Tokoyami_!" exclaimed the purple-haired boy. "The girls' changing room is right _there_! And it's totally unguarded! It always is! If you keep an eye out for me, then we could get the score of a _lifetime_!"

"_Why_ do you always assume I share your twisted, perverted views, Mineta?"

"'Cause you always stick with me, that's why! Takes one to know one, after all!"

"No, _you're_ the one who's sticking onto me."

"You say that, but you never push me away!" Minoru Mineta pointed at Fumikage Tokoyami. "And _that_ symbolizes a deep level of brotherhood! _That's_ why I am entrusting you with the responsibility of-"

"You're not entrusting me with jack-shit," Tokoyami interrupted brutally. "You wanna score? Do it on your own. But you're not dragging me along with your antics, you little grape."

With that, the black-haired boy walked away, leaving a flabbergasted Minoru behind. Then, after a minute, he gritted his teeth and pointed a trembling, accusatory finger at his departing acquaintance.

"Ah, fine then!" he shouted. "Go be that way, Tokoyami! But when you're one of the first to try and strike a bargain with me, you're not getting any! No way in _hell_ am I giving you any-"

He stopped mid-sentence when he finally registered Izuku's presence. The two boys stared at each other awkwardly, and Minoru's skin was paling slightly.

_"Well this is weird..."_ Izuku thought. _"Mineta looks like a kid who got caught trying to steal from the cookie jar...but I've got no clue as to what I caught him doing. He sounds like his usual horny, unlucky self."_

Then, Minoru placed a finger over his lips. "You heard _nothing_, okay?!" he whispered. "Not a thing! Got it?!"

Izuku blinked twice and stared silently at the smaller teenager. _"Heard _nothing_? I just heard Mineta being Mineta. What's he got to worry about?"_

Without saying anything, the green-haired boy finally walked off to join the other students on the track field. He heard a ghost of a sigh from Minoru's direction, but thought nothing more of it. After all, what was there to expect from the ever-so-hopeless class pervert?

* * *

"Alright! Listen up, boys!"

Izuku and the other boys were seated in the changing room as Sekijiro Kan was pacing between the rows of lockers. His brow was furrowed, and there was a stern, terrifying frown of disapproval etched on his face. His very voice quelled any chatter breaking out amongst the boys and brought a tense, uncomfortable atmosphere into the room. Many of the boys looked at each other uneasily, unsure why their P.E. teacher interrupted the period to bring them back here.

"Several lockers in the girls' changing room were broken into. The perp targeted all the members of the girls' swimming team while they were out using the pool. He stole..._certain_ articles of clothing from each and every locker."

Subtle snickers swept through the locker rows. As for Izuku, his face paled with horror and realization.

"Hey!" Kan barked. "This is no laughing matter! We've got the police investigating, and they've got suspicions as to who did this..." He narrowed his eyes menacingly. "As do I."

"Whoa, Coach!" a voice called; Izuku recognized it as Denki's. "Y-You suggestin' one of _us_ has something to do with it?"

"I'm not suggesting _anything_, Kaminari. I _know_ one of you did it. An act as stupid, perverted, and ballsy as this has gotta be the work of one of _you_ damn perverts." He ignored the embarrassed blushes that blossomed on the faces of many of the boys. "Now, the cops will be coming in to conduct a search of all your lockers. We find even _one_ piece of clothing that was reported stolen, the locker's owner will be gettin' his ass expelled! As for what the cops will do to you, well, that's all on them! I'm not askin' any questions!"

Izuku wasn't looking, but he could tell how pale many of the boys looked. The silence that had fallen upon the room was tense and unbearable. At that moment, he heard Kan speak again.

"Now, if anyone knows _anything_ about this, or perhaps has a guilty conscience now that I've spoken, I'm gonna give you one chance to speak up. You could make things a whole lot easier on yourselves if you did." There was a brief and thorny silence. "Well?"

Still, no one spoke. Izuku gripped at his legs.

"Very well, then. I'm gonna let the cops in now-"

"Kan-sensei!" Izuku said, a little louder than he wanted. He stood up from the bleacher, and as he did, he felt everyone's eyes on him. Whispers filled the air like a soft breeze.

"Midoriya?"

"What's he doing?"

"Is he..._confessing_?"

"Never thought he'd be capable of somethin' like this..."

"No way. He's too wimpy."

"That's what we thought until last week, though!"

Kan himself looked shock. "_Midoriya_?" he asked.

"It wasn't me, Kan-sensei," Izuku replied quickly, "but I know who did it."

"See!" a boy whispered. "Told ya he didn't do it!"

"He says he knows who did it, though?" asked another boy.

"Well, Midoriya?" Kan said, crossing his arms. "Who is it?"

_**"The girls' changing room is right **_**there**_**! And it's totally unguarded! It always is! If you keep an eye out for me, then we could get the score of a **_**lifetime**_**!"**_

_"Once again, I stood by and did nothing,"_ Izuku thought. Then, he clenched his fists. _"Well, not this time."_

He pointed towards another bleacher. "It was Mineta, Kan-sensei!" he cried.

"Oh..." some of the boys chorused in response.

"Hush now!" Kan barked. Then, he looked at Izuku. "What makes you say that?"

"I heard him talking about the girls' locker room and how it was unguarded! He-He said...he could get the score of a...a lifetime..."

Kan promptly glared at the purple-haired boy, who cowered in fear. "I should've _known_."

"I-I-It wasn't m-m-me, K-Ka-Kan-s-se-sensei!" Minoru stuttered pathetically. "Honest!"

"Mineta, you've been the subject of many, _many_ complaints from girls since you came here. At this point, I'm not all that surprised you were behind this." Kan marched up to the boy, who shrunk with terror. "Where's your locker?"

"K-Ka-Kan-sensei! You... Y-You _can't_ be s-"

Kan's voice boomed across the changing room, which nearly made Izuku's heart stop. "Hell _yeah_, I'm serious! Show me your locker, Mineta, or I'm gonna call in the cops to search all the lockers and make everyone wait here!"

Minoru felt everyone's hateful stares on him, and he began shivering even more. Left with no other choice, he nodded his head and stood up.

"Y-Yes, K-Kan-sensei..."

He approached his locker and started putting in his lock combination. As he did, Izuku noticed many of the boys shooting quiet but jeering insults his way. Every time each insult reached his ears, Minoru's eyes would become a bit shinier. All of a sudden, Izuku felt a pang of pity towards the class pervert, something he thought he would never feel.

The moment of truth arrived when Minoru loudly unlatched his lock. He opened his locker, and the boys on his bleachers leaned their heads in together. The look on Minoru's face was unmistakable.

"Looks like the cat's out of the bag, Mineta," Kan said. He stared at the doorway, where two police officers were standing with handcuffs. "We've got him, officers."

"NO!" Minoru shrieked. Tears started spouting out of his eyes like waterfalls. "NO, NO, NO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! I DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS CAME FROM! KAN-SENSEI, YOU GOTTA BELIEVE ME! YOU GOTTA!"

Out of curiosity, Izuku walked over to Minoru's row of lockers and looked inside the only open one. As soon as he saw its contents, there was no doubt in his mind about the purple-haired boy's culpability.

"Man, look at the size of _that_ green one," one boy said with awe.

"The girl wearing it must have some serious knockers!" another boy exclaimed hungrily.

"I wonder what cup size it is..."

"It's gotta be a C at most!"

"No, fools," a third boy called from the other end of the bleacher. "It's a double-D. Read the tag."

"Double-D?!"

"SHUT YOUR TRAPS!" Kan roared, startling Izuku, Minoru, and the others. At the same time, the officers approached the locker and looked inside as well.

"There's only three bras and five panties in here," one of the officers said.

"That's not even half of what was taken." Kan glared at Minoru. "Where'd you hide the rest, Mineta? Tell me now."

"I don't know!" Minoru cried hysterically. "I didn't _do_ this, Kan-sensei! You saw me during P.E.!"

"Yes, I did...except for the fifteen or so minutes where I excused you so you could go to the bathroom. Now, where are the rest, Mineta?"

"I don't _know_!"

Kan narrowed his eyes. "Your parents _will_ hear about this, one way or another-"

"NO! _PLEASE_, KAN-SENSEI, OFFICERS! I-I DIDN'T DO THIS, I **SWEAR**!"

"Save it for the judge, kid," one of the officers replied. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and held it tightly. "Come with us now-"

"NO! NO, NO, NO!"

Minoru broke away from the officer's grip and ran up to the closest boy, which just so happened to be Izuku. The green-haired boy gasped as his schoolmate grabbed his shirt and pulled him in close so he could see his watery eyes and tear-stained cheeks up-close and personal.

"MIDORIYA!" he sobbed. "YOU **GOTTA** BELIEVE ME! I DIDN'T **DO** THIS, I SWEAR! TELL THEM, MIDORIYA! TELL THEM I DIDN'T DO THIS! TELL THEM, **_PLEASE_**!"

Izuku simply stared in shock at Minoru's outburst. A couple of seconds later, both officers tore the smaller boy away from him, but this didn't stop him from protesting passionately.

"PLEASE, BELIEVE ME! BELIEVE ME, SOMEONE! I DIDN'T DO THIS, I DIDN'T! DOES **ANYONE** BELIEVE ME?!"

"You are truly a disgrace to this school, Mineta," Tenya's voice called. "You deserve every disciplinary action in the book!"

"NO! I DON'T WANNA GET EXPELLED! I DON'T **WANNA**! I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO TOUCH YAOYOROZU'S BOOBS!"

"Gotta love it when the perps write their own prosecution for themselves," one of the officers remarked gleefully.

**"NOOOOO-!"**

Minoru was cut off by the slamming of the changing room door, leaving everyone else in awkward silence. Kan stared at the doorway for a few seconds before glaring at the rest of the boys.

"Alright," he said gruffly. "Class is now dismissed. Spend the rest of your day reflecting on what Mineta has done, and be grateful it wasn't any of you perverts."

The boys began changing out of their P.E. uniforms, while Kan slammed Minoru's locker shut to prevent any of them from gawking at its contents. As the hulking teacher started taping off the locker, Izuku stared absentmindedly at it, reflecting on Minoru's last words as he was dragged off.

_"Mineta was pretty insistent when he said he didn't do it..."_ he thought. _"But he has the strongest motive for stealing all the girls'...ahem... And he went to the bathroom for fifteen minutes while everyone else was at P.E. That's a big window of time for him to raid the girls' locker room. ...It doesn't look good for Mineta at all."_

Then, Izuku shook his head and returned to his own locker. He pursed his lips and started putting in his lock combination with determination.

_"No. No, you can't think like that, Izuku. Mineta did a very bad thing, hurt a lot of people. You did the right thing, turning him in. Iida's right; he deserves everything that's coming to him."_

All of a sudden, he paused while in the process of putting in the second number.

_"Then...why do I feel bad when I think about him getting punished...?"_

* * *

"Alright, don't forget your book reports are due by Thursday. Class dismissed."

Izuku packed up his school supplies, stood up from his chair, and put on his backpack. Then, he cast one last glance on a desk at the leftmost corner of the classroom. It had been empty since the end of the P.E. period.

_"Mineta's probably at home being scolded by his parents right about now..."_ he thought. The image of a sobbing Minoru sitting on a rather uncomfortable couch entered his mind, and rather than feeling disdain towards the tiny, purple-haired pervert, Izuku still felt pity and sorrow about his dilemma.

"Midoriya!" a voice called.

Izuku looked over his shoulder with panic, almost expecting to see Katsuki and his group of cronies marching up to him, ready to raid his backpack again or something similar. Instead, he saw Tenya, Momo, Shoto, and Mezo waiting for him at the doorway. A slight pang of confusion passed through his heart before Izuku remembered.

_"Oh yeah, that's right. They're my friends now. ...I_ really _gotta get used to this."_

The boy walked up to them and asked, "Yeah?"

"You want us to walk you out of school?" Mezo asked.

Izuku blinked with surprise. Then, he smiled, all the while feeling his heart lifting upward with joy and humility.

"I'd like nothing more than that."

"Excellent," replied a smiling Tenya, as the group proceeded to walk away from the classroom and down the packed hall. "I must say, Midoriya, you've impressed me once again."

Izuku looked up at Tenya. "Huh?"

"You stepped up and provided Kan-sensei the information he needed to identify that deviant."

Izuku looked ahead regretfully. "O-Oh..."

"Ugh, that Mineta _really_ got under my skin," Momo said with a grimace. "Last week, I caught him attaching mirrors to his shoes and trying to start a conversation with Shiozaki and her friends. He has no shame at all." She closed her eyes and stuck her chin up. "I'm glad the administration finally saw him for who he truly was and expelled him before he could do any further acts of despicable lust and perversion."

"Speaking of which," replied Mezo, "did they ever find out where Mineta was keeping the rest of the..." He briefly paused and then cleared his throat in embarrassment. "You-know-what?"

"Definitely not," Tenya said. "I observed continued police activity outside during class. They were scouring the track field. Even with expulsion hanging over his academic records, Mineta refuses to atone for his psychological failures. His future, I'm afraid, will only undergo a downward spiral from here."

"I feel bad for him," Izuku remarked.

Everyone stopped in their tracks, and Izuku was mentally beating himself up for blurting that out.

"Are you _mad_, Midoriya?" Momo said, affronted. "Did you forget what he did to put himself in that situation?"

"You were the one who turned him in!" exclaimed Tenya. "How could you feel pity for that deviant after all that?!"

"L-L-Look!" Izuku stuttered in response. "I-I know what he did was wrong! B-But...I-I don't know, s-something just does not feel right... Th-That's all!"

"Mineta has had a history of sexually harassing his female schoolmates and other lascivious behavior on school grounds. What exactly does not feel right about this?"

"I dunno..." Izuku pursed his lips. "It's just...the way he kept insisting his innocence... That's all-"

"Midoriya," Momo interrupted sternly, "those were the actions of a sad and desperate man trying to save himself when all other options have failed him. There's nothing more to it."

Izuku looked up at the class vice-president for a moment and saw the disapproving gleam in her sharp onyx eyes. Then, he looked at Mezo, who looked just as convinced of Minoru's guilt as Momo was. Next, he looked at Tenya, whose opinion was not a surprise to him at all. Finally, he looked at Shoto, who was staring back at him ambiguously. Izuku couldn't tell if the silent redhead agreed with him or not.

Nevertheless, he nodded reluctantly. "I...I suppose..." he replied, turning his head away. "I'm...I'm sorry for saying that, you guys. I...I shouldn't overthink what happened..."

"Midoriya," Tenya said, "there's nothing wrong with coming forward with the truth. As long as it's for a good cause, then telling the truth will liberate your soul. And what you did was for one of the noblest causes possible. Thanks to you, the poor girls that deviant violated will have some peace knowing who did this unspeakable act to them."

_"A good cause..."_ Izuku thought in rumination. _"Then...why do I feel like this good cause had a bad result? Why do I feel like I'm not getting the whole picture...?"_

"It's just like how you saved Uraraka and Kodai last week," Momo added. "You did the right thing, Midoriya."

"And I'm grateful for it!" a familiar bubbly voice exclaimed. Izuku blushed a little as he watched Ochako and Yui approach them. "I think you were awesome, Midoriya, exposing that pervert for who he was and finally pushing the school to give him the boot!"

"Hey, didn't Mineta try to steal something from your backpack last week, Uraraka?" Mezo asked out of curiosity.

"No, actually. It was more like he was _sniffing_ it. Rubbing his face against it... Like I somehow leave my scent on it every day." Ochako shuddered. "What a creep. And after what nearly happened to me, you'd think he'd have some respect. But nope! He's still his usual self! Gosh, I just wanted to _punch_ him!" She started lightly punching the air. "You have no idea how glad I was to hear he'd no longer be in school! Some girls in my class still wanna, actually! Their, ahem, you-know-whats are still missing."

"We all were," Tenya replied. "I truly rejoiced in seeing that deviant be humiliated in that locker room before receiving his rightful punishment. Such a thing would usually be a point of shame for me, but-" He suddenly looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Midoriya? Where are you going?"

Izuku had started walking away from the group. He tensed up a little, but then he relaxed and looked back at his friends.

"I, uh, I-I'm going back to the locker room," he said.

"Really?" Tenya asked, arching his eyebrow. "Why?"

"W-Well, uh, y-you mentioned the locker, a-and then I remembered th-that I, uh, f-forgot something in my locker! Yeah, I forgot something in my locker!"

"I thought the cops still have it taped off?" asked Mezo.

"I-I'll ask one of 'em t-to get my thing for me!"

"Do you want us to go with you, Midoriya?" Ochako asked.

"N-No, I'm fine. I think you guys should go home without me."

"You sure, man?" asked Mezo.

"Y-Yeah, I-I'm sure! I'll be rushing home after I find my thing!" Izuku turned around and started walking faster down the hallway, but not before giving them a wave. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

"Y-Yeah!" Ochako's surprised voice called after him. "We'll see you tomorrow!"

Izuku didn't want to turn around and look at the group for one last time. Instead, he quickened his pace and eventually turned a corner. As soon as he did, he stopped and leaned against the wall while heaving out a relieved sigh.

_"Thank _God _they didn't follow me,"_ he thought. _"I feel bad about lying to them, and I don't think they even believed me, especially Iida...but..."_

**_"Hey, didn't Mineta try to steal something from your backpack last week, Uraraka?"_**

**_"No, actually. It was more like he was sniffing it. Rubbing his face against it... Like I somehow leave my scent on it every day."_**

_"I can't help but feel as if something's fishy with this story..."_

* * *

Izuku stood at the doorway of the school building, watching as the last of the police officers departed from the track field in defeat. He could feel the evening sun shining down on the entire area, bathing it in its warm, reddening light. Then, he glanced at the doors to both the boys' and girls' locker rooms, which were located several yards away on the right side of the field from his position. Access to both lockers rooms were barred by yellow police barricade tape.

_"Oh, man..."_ he thought. _"I'm not allowed to go inside. I'll get in big trouble if I get caught. And worse, they might think I'm Mineta's accomplice or something."_

He looked back at the track field, which was now devoid of any police officers. The only person on the field now was the groundskeeper Sorahiko, who was being his usual cranky and irritable self, grumbling indiscernible musings he swept the ground on the opposite side of the field, relieving it of the last of the autumn leaves.

_"I need to get past Old Man Sorahiko too. He may be old but nothing escapes his eye. He knows every last student like the back of his hand. I__f the cops find out someone got into the boys' locker room, Old Man Sorahiko will be the first guy they'll talk to, and he'll point a finger at me! __I need to distract him, but I'm not gonna keep him away for long. I need to draw him away from the locker rooms somehow, without getting him to recognize me...but _how_...?"_

Then, an unknown but powerful instinct penetrated his mind. His arms moved on their own, putting his backpack on the ground, beside the doorway. He zipped it open and stared at the Yamikumo cosplay stuffed neatly inside. He felt not just his fingers, but his entire _hand_, twitch...but then he shook his head.

_"Wha...What am I_ doing_?! Am I _really _gonna dress up in this cosplay and use it to distract Old Man Sorahiko without him even knowing who I am? I don't even have a plan on how I'm gonna lure him away! This...This is so stupid."_ He clutched the zipper of his bag. _"I'll just have to try again tomorrow-"_

"Whatcha got there, Midoriya?"

"AGH!"

Izuku toppled to the ground at the sudden sound of the voice in his ear. He looked up, expecting to see Ochako or Tenya or any one of his new friends standing over him. Instead, he recognized the salmon-pink hair, the yellow contact lenses, and the eccentric grin.

"H-H-Ha-Hat-_Hatsume_?!" Izuku exclaimed loudly, his voice cracking.

"That's me!" the girl replied boisterously, all while giving a cheesy salute. Then, she leaned her head to the side, peering into Izuku's backpack. "Now let's see here-"

"AGH!" He scrambled forward in an attempt to retrieve his bag, but Mei reacted more quickly, snatching it away from his grasp.

"_Interesting_," she said, her eye twinkling mischievously as she regarded Izuku. Then, she looked inside the backpack and gasped dramatically. "Oh. My. GOSH! Is...Is this it?!"

"K-Keep it down, Hatsume!" Izuku said in a hushed voice as he shot up on his feet. He looked over his shoulder and saw, much to his relief, Sorahiko still sweeping the track field, all the while grumbling and ranting incomprehensibly to himself. Then, before he could look back at Mei, he was nearly knocked over.

"Is this _really_ the costume that you wore when you beat up those crooks?!" Mei asked in a frenetic voice. Her yellow eyes were glinting madly, the grip on his shirt was frighteningly tight, and his Yamikumo costume hung from one of her hands, flowing downward like a cape. "Well?"

"L-Look, Hatsume, I-I-"

"Just tell me, Midoriya!" Mei stared into his green eyes hungrily. "I won't tell _anyone else_ if you do!"

_"Why do I get the feeling she'll go back on her word as soon as I come clean?"_

Nevertheless, Izuku looked away sheepishly, his cheeks slightly pink, and he replied, "Yeah..."

An indescribable energy quickly flowed into Mei's face like a violent torrent. She released Izuku and stared intently at the costume, zeroing her focus in on many aspects. If one were to look at her eyes, they could swear her pupils were dilating like camera lenses.

"_Wooooow_..." Mei looked at Izuku again. "Please tell me this is custom!"

"It's not," Izuku replied flatly. "The sewing you see on some parts is my mom's work."

"So your mom fixes up your costume?!"

He blinked slowly. "She doesn't _fix up_ my costume. She only did it once because I asked her to."

Mei looked at the costume with admiration once again. "It's impressive work, though! I wish _I_ had your mom's repairing skills! I mean, look at that handiwork!"

Izuku sighed heavily. "Why're you here, Hatsume?"

"I was lookin' for you, why else?!"

"..._Looking_ for me?"

"Uh-huh!" Mei looked at him with so much passion and intensity that her stare could rival Tenya's own. "You didn't get to answer my long-sought-after questions!"

Izuku opened his mouth to respond, but Mei cut him off, her voice talking a mile a minute.

"But, seeing as you've got your Yamikumo costume out while you're pretty close to a crime scene, that little-wittle turn of events has caught my interest even more. So tell me, Mi. Do. Ri. Ya..." She leaned her head towards Izuku's, and her cunning smile caused him to blush. "What exactly _are_ you planning on doin'?"

"Wh-Wh-What am I pl-pl-planning on d-d-doing?" repeated Izuku. The poor boy was clearly in a fluster. "W-Well, y-y-you see, H-Ha-Hatsume, I, uh-"

"Again with the uhs and ums!" Mei giggled. "You're pretty cute, Midoriya, you know that?"

"I'm-I'm...w-wh-wh-_what_?!" He started to feel dizzy.

The otaku girl withdrew her head and placed her hands on her lips. The proud look on her face was unmistakable.

"Well, since you're too much of a mess to tell me, I'll just guess!" Mei glanced at the taped-off locker rooms. "So...you're near the locker rooms, a place where a devious crime had occurred only a few hours ago! You've had your sights on it for at least a couple of minutes, but you haven't gone out onto the track field because Old Man Sorahiko is there. And since you've had this costume in your backpack for the entire day, I'm gonna assume you were waiting for a good opportunity to play superhero again! And, lo and behold, you know have the chance to investigate a crime like any good superhero'd do! But since Old Man Sorahiko is still wandering about, being his usual crazy self, you don't have a good plan on how to lure him away from the scene!" Her haughty grin widened. "Tell me, was I on point, Mi. Do. Ri. Ya?"

Izuku blinked twice in absolute shock, before replying sheepishly, "Pr-Pr-Pretty much..."

"Ah-HA!" Mei pointed an index finger in the air, her entire form radiating arrogance. "As I suspected! You're trying to find all the underwear Mineta stole! How very Yamikumo of you, Midoriya!"

"Keep it down, Hatsume!" Izuku cast a worried glance over his shoulder, and was relieved to see Sorahiko still sweeping the track field. "And...th-thanks, I-I guess..."

"Well, since you're gonna get to the bottom of this mysterious vanishing act, I'm gonna help you out!"

"It's more than just-" He looked back at Mei. "Wait, _what_?"

"I'll help you play superhero detective, Midoriya! Free of charge!"

"No, you shouldn't, Hatsume! What if someone finds out what we're doing? They might think we're involved with Mineta somehow!"

"Re-_laaaaax_, Midoriya! No one's gonna find out!"

"H-_How_?"

She gave him a cheeky smile. "'Cause you're the one with the Yamikumo cosplay, after all!"

"...I don't see how that helps things..."

"Listen here, Midoriya." Mei stared intently into his eyes, her yellow contact lenses shining just as brightly as the evening sun. "You don't know how to get past Old Man Sorahiko without attracting attention, which is why you need a sidekick for these kinds of things! And I'll gladly be that sidekick! All ya have to do is trust me, and it'll all be fine!"

"T-Tr-Trust you?" Izuku flashed back to all of the times Tenya complained about Mei, and all of the times he observed Mei engaging the rest of her club in one of her crazy schemes. "I'd-I'd rather trust a _snake_ over you!"

"Gee, that's hurtful, Midoriya." But Mei didn't look the least offended as she thrust the costume into his arms and started prancing onto the field. "Just wait for my signal!"

"W-W-Wait, Hatsume! S-So-Sorahiko will-"

Then, to his utter shock, Mei called out loudly and energetically, "Yoo-hoo! Old Man Sorahiko! Over here!"

The elderly groundskeeper stopped rambling and flicked his head at her direction. His scowl became more pronounced as he scanned Mei from head to toe.

"Whaddaya want, Hatsume?!" he snapped irritably. "I don't have time for ya antics!"

Mei clapped her hands together in a pleading posture that looked blatantly fake. "I'm so sorry, Sorahiko-san, but I was at the swimming pool and I accidentally opened up the storage room and a whole bunch of volleyballs are everywhere now and-"

"Goddamn it all!" Sorahiko started marching towards her. "I told ya kids to stop messin' around with the equipment! How many times do I have to tell ya kids to stop _messin' around_?!"

"If it makes you any better, I'll clean up all the volleyballs myself!"

"Ya better! I don't want any of ya runts running out on their responsibilities!" The groundskeeper's eye glinted. "Which is why I'm gonna be watchin' ya every step of the way! That way ya don't mess around again!"

Mei smiled from ear to ear. "Oh, I promise, Sorahiko-san! There'll be no messin' around!"

"Don't make promises ya can't keep, Hatsume! Now..." He raised his broomstick like it was a weapon, and aimed it down a certain direction. "Lead the way!"

"Sure thing! Follow me, Sorahiko!"

Mei started walking down the direction Sorahiko pointed out, with the groundskeeper slowly following after her. Realizing what she was doing, Izuku slowly looked down at his arms, which were still holding the Yamikumo cosplay.

**_"You're not allowed to come back here until you find something productive to do at school, Midoriya. I don't care what it is, as long as you make friends and enjoy life beyond the pleasures of manga."_**

_"I can't believe I'm doing this again..."_ thought Izuku. _"I shouldn't even be doing this. I should be walking home with my new friends and having fun and appreciating life beyond manga... I should be doing what Shimura-san told me to do... But..."_

**_"MIDORIYA! YOU _GOTTA_ BELIEVE ME! I DIDN'T DO THIS, I SWEAR! TELL THEM, MIDORIYA! TELL THEM I DIDN'T DO THIS! TELL THEM, _PLEASE_!"_**

_"I believe Mineta..." _He narrowed his green eyes and looked at the taped-off locker rooms._ "I believe him. I believe him now. I don't think he did this. He's a pervert, without a shadow of a doubt, but he didn't do this."_

Without another second of hesitation, Izuku started putting on the costume. At first, it felt a little uncomfortable putting the fabric over his school uniform, providing an unnecessary, extra layer of insulation that gathered heat inside him. But once he put on the sleeves and zipped up the costume over his chest, Izuku felt like he was home again. Even his arms, still covered in their casts, felt as if a new energy had begun surging through their veins.

_"Someone's setting Mineta up...and I'm gonna find out who. I won't let Mineta's voice be unheard, no matter what."_

With that, Izuku put on the Yamikumo mask and stared determinedly through its eyelids.

* * *

**A/N:** And that marks the end of this chapter. Izuku will unlock the mystery of the stolen underwear in the next one! And when it happens, oh boy, that's going to kick-start the true meat of this story, which is, of course, the titular Hero Club!

Once again, I apologize for the lack of IzuMina and Kacchako scenes in this chapter. Once again, the shippings didn't feel pertinent in this one. But don't worry, we will start delving into those shippings in a couple more chapters! The Hero Club needs to be in full swing first, because that will help me segue into that material.

And yes, Mineta didn't do it. He's definitely a pervert, but he was framed for this one. After this, I will attempt to salvage his character as much as possible, because I know how unpopular he can be with the fandom. Fortunately, I'm at a great advantage with this AU style.

Anyway, I'd like to thank the following people for reviewing:

**-YukiNikki:** Well, this is what's coming next: Izuku independently investigating a crime at his school under his newfound superhero persona! Hope it's interesting!

**-MarvelNinja10:**

**1)** Whoa. I never imagined how biographical this fic turned out to be for you. Who would've thunk it? Anyway, I hope it elevates the reading experience for you! :D

**2)** Yes, that made sense. And I'm glad I'm being very accurate and realistic with Izuku's thoughts, not to mention taking what I learned from my college creative writing course and putting it to good use! I knew I'd love that class!

**3)** Sadly, I actually have a couple of summer classes, but they are both literature-related, so let's see what I learn there and what I can apply in my fics.

**-****Tasia'sENDLESSDreams:**

**1)** I am glad you saw Eijiro and Denki's OOC behaviors that way! Yes, without heroes to rely on, and with crime running rampant while the police are helpless and inefficient in doing anything, cynicism and apathy become the only attitudes to rely on for survival. Naturally, Izuku is the first to get sick of it, and look at what's happened! He's going to do something about it at last! :D

**2)** **YES!** You noticed the callbacks to the original manga concept! Of course, I needed to do some world-building for the _Our Hero Academia_ manga introduced in this AU, and I instantly looked to the original manga ideas for inspiration. It's all pretty neat, ain't it?!

**3)** I'm excited over your anticipation of the Kacchako moments! And it will happen soon but you'll have to wait for a little bit. I just need to get Izuku's newest foray into heroics out of the way first. ;)

**-AllAcid (guest reviewer):** Obviously, no. They'll start getting comfy with one another in a few chapters, though.

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	9. From One Weirdo to Another

Izuku approached the door to the boys' locker room, and as he did, he started to regret wearing his Yamikumo costume. The Sun was still up in the sky, and its heat was welling up inside the costume at a rapid pace, like a cup being filled too quickly. The green-haired boy was already sweating quite profusely and there were stains visible underneath his armpits, all over his torso, down his legs, and all across the top of his mask. To say he was uncomfortable inside the costume was quite an understatement.

_"This was such a bad idea,"_ he thought with exasperation. _"To be wearing a full-body costume, including a mask, during this time of the day? What was I _thinking_?! It's not like anyone's gonna see me right now, since everyone's gone home and Hatsume is busy distracting Old Man Sorahiko. Ohhhhh, Shimura-san was right... I'm just using this opportunity to play superhero-"_

He suddenly broke off from his musings when he saw the door to the locker room. Overtaken by curiosity, the boy leaned his head to take a closer look at it through the yellow barricade tape.

_"The door didn't latch shut. The teachers could not have left it that way, since everyone knows how this door has a lot of problems closing all the way through. It must've been one of the cops from earlier today."_

On instinct, Izuku looked over his shoulder to see if Sorahiko was returning. When all he saw was an open track field, he looked back at the door and began pondering.

_"If I open the door and go inside the locker room, then that'll be breaking-and-entering. I'm...I'm gonna break the law... If I get caught, that'll be the end of everything..."_ He gulped. _"I'll let all of them down... My mom, Shimura-san, all of my friends... Maybe I should turn back now..."_

Izuku turned around on his heel and prepared to leave and not look back, but an unseen force stopped him from moving any further. Instead, the boy was rooted in his place, like a statue, left with only his thoughts.

_**"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing? Are you **_**really _going to turn back after everything that's just happened? After all of that resolve to prove Mineta's innocence?"_**

_"Well, what am I supposed to do? If I do this, I'm gonna be a criminal. Yamikumo wouldn't do something like this."_

**_"Of course not. He has done worse. Remember when he and his friends went behind their teacher's back to go save Ground Zero from the League of Villains? They risked a lot more than just their reputations by doing that."_**

_"That was a completely different situation! A fictional one, at that!"_

**_"Is it? You'll be saving Mineta from a future of humiliation. You of all people should know how horrible being publicly humiliated feels."_**

_"But I don't even know if he's innocent or not! Stealing girls' underwear is definitely something he'd do!"_

**_"That is _not_ what you were thinking a few minutes ago. You_ knew _something was fishy from the start. Why do you think you're here in the first place? ...Why do you think you're talking to yourself like this in the first place?"_**

_"Well, I changed my mind! I'm just overthinking this. And besides, I don't even know what I'm gonna find in that locker room!"_

**_"Well, you never know unless you try. So go on. Do it. Don't let anything hold you back. If you don't act now, Old Man Sorahiko's gonna return and see what you're doing. And don't forget, Hatsume's putting a lot on the line, helping you out. That was her choice, not yours. If you're not gonna do it for Mineta, then do it for her, because there's no turning back for her now. You can't let her efforts be all for nothing, now can you?"_**

_"...Darn it..."_

Izuku turned back around and clutched the doorknob. He broke yet another beat of sweat, but otherwise didn't hesitate to push the door open, revealing the small, dark hallway leading into the locker room. Without a second thought, the boy stepped through the cavity in the barricade tape and gained access to the room.

_"Okay..." _he thought._ "Where's the switch...?"_

Izuku scanned the poorly lit walls and immediately found the set of switches. He flipped all of them on, illuminating the entire room. Then, he looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was there. Once he confirmed to himself that he was all alone, he closed the door and made sure it was fully shut this time.

Then, he started walking along the rows of lockers, staring at each of them in turn. He stopped at his locker as soon as he saw it, and immediately recalled his conversation with Eijiro earlier today.

**_"Why're you doing this? Why're you so nice to me now?"_**

**_"W-Well..."_**

**_"Don't think this'll make me wanna teach you some of my so-called moves. I am not gonna bury the hatchet and give you that reward, Kirishima. It doesn't work that way."_**

**_"I...I didn't ask for anything in return, Midoriya..."_**

**_"Then tell me why, Kirishima. Why...Why're you being so nice to me?"_**

**_"I-It's like wh-what I said back i-in the hospital! T-T-To think the guy who I thought was a-a loser was capable of beating bigger, buffer guys up, it...it's astounding! You've got strength, Midoriya, a lot of it...and it's admirable! It's badass! It's... I-It's manly..."_**

With Eijiro's words lingering in his mind, Izuku looked towards Minoru's locker and started heading towards it. As soon as he approached it, he noticed the lock was missing from its door. The boy raised a hand towards it, hesitated for a fleeting moment, and then opened it. Not unexpectedly, the locker was completely empty, but he could still imagine the bras and panties that he saw in there.

_"Okay..."_ Izuku thought as he slowly closed the locker. _"What's there to think about? Mineta left P.E. for fifteen minutes, and it was apparently to take a bathroom break. That's enough time for him to break into the girls' locker room, find all the lockers belonging to the girls' swimming team, steal their underwear, and bring some of them here. It's as simple as that..."_

Then, Izuku's grip on the locker handle tightened, and his green eyes narrowed with suspicion.

_"But...why would Mineta hide some of the underwear he stole in his locker...and not _all_ of them? If the cops couldn't find the rest by the end of the school day, then that means, theoretically, Mineta knows of a better place where he could hide them at. A place that only he knows about._

_"Why, then? Why would he risk hiding some of the underwear in his locker, when he hid the others in a secret place that even the officers couldn't find? He could've just hidden them all in that secret place. Instead...he wasted a lot more time multitasking between two hiding places. That's an unnecessary amount of time wasted. There's a lot of room for failure. And he should have known Kan-sensei would immediately suspect one of the boys of doing this and order a search of all the lockers, just like he did today._

_"Mineta may be a crude, hopeless pervert...but he's also smart. He always scores high on the tests. If this was his work, he would've known better than to put in all of that extra effort for himself. He would've thought this through a lot better than that. Leaving those stolen items in his locker would've been too inconvenient for him..."_

**_"MIDORIYA! YOU _GOTTA_ BELIEVE ME! I DIDN'T DO THIS, I SWEAR! TELL THEM, MIDORIYA! TELL THEM I DIDN'T DO THIS! TELL THEM, _PLEASE_!"_**

_"Mineta's innocent. He's gotta be. Someone must've framed him...but _who_...?"_

He glanced further down the rows of lockers. He could imagine all of the other boys innocently getting dressed after yet another day of P.E., while any one of them was covertly plotting a way to frame Minoru and get away with the lascivious heist.

_**"Now you're getting somewhere, Izuku..."**_

Suddenly, Izuku heard the faint sound of movement somewhere in the room. He felt a gasp become trapped in his chest as he froze, his body as straight and rigid as a wooden board. He remained still for what seemed like an eternity, before finally looking over his shoulder slowly.

There was no one behind him in the lonely hallway.

_"Okay... This is so creepy... Should I call out? N-No! What if it's a teacher?! What if it's Kan-sensei?! B-But what would a teacher be doing at a crime scene? Ei-Either way, if I speak and there's another person there, they might recognize me! And they might report me or apprehend me or-or _worse_! Wh-What if it's the real thief?!"_

As he continued thinking, his eardrums didn't pick up any further sounds, which the boy eventually noticed.

_"Okay... Maybe's it's just my imagination. Maybe no one's there..."_

Still, Izuku walked as fast as he could to the door. After taking one last glance over his shoulder, he pulled the door open with some difficulty. The light hit his face ruthlessly like a blast of energy, and he winced momentarily before finding the switch and shutting off the power. Then, as he moved to close the door behind him, he heard some faint shuffling coming from within the locker room. A shiver went down Izuku's spine and he immediately closed the door, unwilling to address who might've been inside with him.

Next, he looked across his shoulder and saw, to his shock, the faint outline of Sorahiko returning to the track field. With no more time left to lose, Izuku burst into a sprint towards the main school building. He didn't keep an eye on the elderly groundskeeper, but he didn't hear any yelling from him, even as he finally reached the doorway from which he came.

"Phew!" Izuku exclaimed aloud once he sought shelter in the shadows. "That was close!" He panted a couple of times. "A little _too_ close, actually."

"You could say that again," a familiar voice said cheerfully.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"

The startled Izuku fell to the ground and was met with the sight of salmon-pink hair and energetic yellow eyes.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Mei cried joyfully. "You sound like a _girl_ when you're scared, Midoriya! And hearing that scream come from that Yamikumo costume makes it seem like you're the real thing! It's _sooooo_ kawaii!"

Izuku gritted his teeth as he stood back up and removed his mask. "What're you still doing here, Hatsume?!" he snapped with exasperation. "I thought Old Man Sorahiko would've had you strung up by now or something!"

"But I'm not, am I?" The female otaku crossed her arms proudly. "And besides, I wanted to know what ya found! So tell me, Superhero-san, what'd ya find?!"

"Nothing, really, but seeing Mineta's locker got me thinking more deeply into this and I've come to a conclusion."

"Oh, really? So whaddaya think?" She leaned her head in with intrigue. "Is Mineta guilty? Or innocent?"

Izuku sighed irritably before replying with slight reluctance, "Innocent."

"_Ooooohhhhh_! What a _twiiiiissssst_! What makes you think that?"

"Mineta's a classmate of mine, so I've heard him go on about how he'd be able to sneak a peek or get in a feel or any of that stuff." Izuku shuddered briefly. "So I know for a fact that he'd think out this whole underwear-stealing scheme a lot more thoroughly than what we already know."

Mei blinked with confusion. "Meaning?"

"He wouldn't have left some of the items he stole in his own gym locker. That would've been too risky... No, whoever set him up _wanted_ Kan-sensei to find those items in Mineta's locker. I saw that locker with my own eyes..." Izuku proceeded to remove the rest of his costume. "It was like they were being offered on a silver platter. Their discovery was way, _way_ too convenient."

"Maybe Mineta got too cocky," suggested Mei. Then, she suddenly grimaced and started swatting at the air between her and Izuku. "Ooh, boy! Midoriya, you stink!"

"Well, that's what happens when you wear something like this full-body suit during the day. Anyway, this would've been the first time he did something so risky and criminal. Before then, the worst he could do was try to get close and inhale the scent of a girl's perfume."

"Then maybe that was Mineta's mistake... He decided to do something even bolder than what he'd do before, but it was too bold and it _blew up_ in his face!"

"No, no, I don't think so. If that were true, then the police would've found all the things Mineta stole by now."

"Well-" Mei cut herself off, and her eyes widened as her mind put two and two together. "_Ohhhhh_... I see..."

"Exactly. There can only be one other explanation, then." Izuku finally finished removing his costume. "Mineta's a patsy."

"But for whom?"

"Well..." Izuku started packing the Yamikumo costume into his backpack. "It has to be someone who knows Mineta's lock combination. Someone who was also absent for a period of time during P.E. Someone who's just as perverted as Mineta, but even more malicious in thought..."

Mei placed a finger on her chin and tried to think. "Hmmmmm... Sorry, nothing's coming to mind."

"It doesn't matter." Izuku zipped up his bag and put it on. "I'm gonna go to Mineta's place and ask him some questions."

"Hold on a moment. You know where Mineta lives?"

"He lives a couple of floors below me." He started walking towards the set of doors. "Plus...after what's happened earlier today, I don't think his apartment will be that hard to miss."

"Ooh, and the plot thickens!" Mei smiled from ear to ear, her cheeks becoming slightly pink with excitement. "I likey! Can I come with?!"

Izuku stopped and looked at her with bewilderment. "Uhhhhh..._no_?"

"Ah, come _oooooon_!" She crossed her arms again. "I helped ya deal with Old Man Sorahiko! I can _so_ be of further use to you!"

The boy looked warily at the faraway Sorahiko for a moment before replying, "And I appreciate what you did, but there's nothing else you can do for me today, Hatsume."

"Well, ya never know, Midoriya! And I ain't lounging around at home to find out! So I'm comin' with ya, whether ya like it or not! After all, that's what sidekicks do, am I right?!"

"Yeah, well-" Izuku suddenly reeled over. "S-Si-_Sidekicks_?!"

"Yep!" Mei saluted with her wide grin still in place. Her unabashedly cheesy appearance gave her a striking resemblance to a character plucked straight out of an anime in that moment. "Mei Hatsume, sidekick extraordinaire, at your service!"

"H-Hey, hey, keep it down!" Izuku exclaimed in a hushed voice, once again casting a wary glance towards Sorahiko. "You wanna catch Old Man Sorahiko's attention and get us strung up or not?!"

She shrugged slyly. "It depends. You wanna bring me along or not?"

_"Oh, no..."_ the green-haired boy thought with building dread. _"Every time I'm gonna say her no to her, she's just gonna make things a whole lot worse! If there's one thing in this world Mei Hatsume doesn't have a clue on, it's the word 'no'."_

He lowered his head with defeat and sighed. "Fine, Hatsume. You may come."

"Yes!" The otaku raised a clenched fist with triumph. "The Manga & Anime Club is gonna have a field day with this!"

"No!" Izuku buried his face in his palms with disbelief. "You _cannot_ tell anyone what we're doing!"

"Hm?" She looked at him with a great curiosity that rivaled a cat's. "Why not? They're gonna wanna hear all about this!" She made a dramatic pose. "Mei Hatsume and Izuku Midoriya, world-class superheroes and detectives, investigating the case of the missing underwear! ...Okay, I admit it needs a little more flair than that, but-"

"The point of a superhero's secret identity is that it's kept a _secret_, Hatsume," Izuku interrupted. Then, he quickly added, with a rather strong emphasis, "At all costs."

"_Ohhhhhh_! Trying to protect your loved ones, I see! A classic American comic book trope!" Mei smiled once again. "Very well, then! You can count on me to be your trusted secret-keeper!"

_"I'd rather trust _Iida _to keep a secret for me,"_ Izuku thought glumly.

Nevertheless, he beckoned her to follow him. "Come on. We don't have a moment left to lose." He grabbed the doorknob and opened the glass door. "Who knows when Mineta will go to bed, now that's he's cooped up at home?"

"Knowing him, though," Mei suggested innocently as she joined his side, "he'll probably be up all night jerking off."

Izuku pursed his lips nervously. "You're probably right..."

"As always!"

The two teenagers walked down the hallway, with Izuku's pace in a slight and overwhelmed clamber while Mei had a tiny skip in her step. As they neared the exit, a thought suddenly popped into Izuku's head.

"Hey, Hatsume?" he asked, interrupting yet another one of her rants.

"Yep?" she replied cheekily.

"W-Was that you in the locker room with me?"

"The locker room?" Mei blinked once. "You mean the _boys_' locker room?"

He averted his gaze with embarrassment. "I guess not..."

"I didn't know you were into some kinky stuff, Midoriya." But Mei's lips curled into her sliest grin yet. "_Buuuuuut_, as your loyal sidekick, I'm ready and able to do _anything_ you ask, no matter how M-rated it might be-"

Flustered beyond belief, Izuku tensed up and squeaked, "H-Ho-How'd you even d-di-distract Old Man S-Sorahiko in t-th-the first pl-pl-place?!"

To his absolute dismay, the otaku winked teasingly. "A girl _never_ reveals her secrets, Midoriya!"

_"Ohhhhh... This was _such _a bad idea..."_

* * *

"There it is. Mineta's place."

"Wow. Those vandals sure were pretty quick."

Izuku and Mei approached the apartment door, which had a number of graffiti of differing colors scrawled all across it and its walls. The sole front window was closed despite the cooling air, and its ugly curtains of pale-blue and mustard-yellow were drawn, giving the apartment a depressingly empty appearance, even though the lights were clearly on inside. Izuku pursed his lips at the sight, and he couldn't help but wonder how the Mineta family was holding up inside.

Finally, he sighed and rang the doorbell. A minute passed, but no one answered. Mei promptly turned around and started to walk away, which Izuku noticed.

"Whoa, whoa!" he exclaimed. "Where are you going, Hatsume?"

"Well, clearly they're not gonna answer," the otaku replied. "I say we try and get in through the back window-"

"I've already broken into a place that was marked a crime scene, Hatsume. I'm _not_ committing another crime just to get the bottom of the original one."

"Well, whaddaya suggest we do now, Yamikumo?"

Izuku rang the doorbell again. "We keep trying to get in the _right_ way." Then, he glared at Mei again. "And don't call me that."

She looked at him curiously. "Call you what?"

"Yamikumo."

"Heh. Says the guy who dressed up in a Yamikumo cosplay-"

"So no one would recognize me."

"Tough break, Midoriya. People would've recognized you anyway."

He looked at her with shock. "R-_Really_?"

"Uh-huh! Kaminari told everyone what your costume looked like. The man wouldn't shut up 'bout it! The description of it has spread around the whole school faster than you would say 'Plus Ultra'!"

"It doesn't matter. Besides..." He gazed at the door forlornly. "I'm not worthy of the Hero name..."

"Oh, come on! Just because you forced your way into that locker room after-hours doesn't exactly mean you committed a crime! Sure, that's what the law says, but screw the law! You did it for a good reason!"

"But I didn't exactly find anything that would've helped Mineta's case. It was all for nothing."

"At least it got you thinkin'..." All of a sudden, Mei's yellow eyes lit up. "And if you didn't even find anything, that means you didn't displace anything there! No one's gonna know you were even there!"

"...It's not just that, though..."

Izuku sighed heavily, which amplified Mei's boundless curiosity. She leaned her head in slightly and asked with a naughty smirk, "What else did you do?"

The alleyway flashed across Izuku's mind as he rang the doorbell for a third time. "Nothing..." Then, the boy knocked on the door thrice as gently as possible. "Mineta! It's Midoriya! Listen, I just wanna talk! Look, I'm not here to harass you or anything! So please, would you open the door?"

The curtains to the window suddenly drew back, revealing a woman shorter and fatter than Izuku's mother. Her dreadful appearance, almost akin to a goblin, was so terrifying that it nearly startled both teenagers. She had purple hair as curly as Minoru's, but the scowl was very much unlike the perverted boy, bringing unpleasant wrinkles to every corner of the woman's face.

"Go away!" she shrieked in a voice so high-pitched that it sounded like there was no glass pane between her and the two teens. "I know why you're here and I've had enough of it! It's bad enough that I realized I've raised a horrible devil as a son for sixteen years, but-"

"Mineta-san!" cried Izuku. "O-Or Mineta-sama, o-or wh-wh-whatever you wish to be called-"

"All I wish is for you brats to leave my home, leave me in peace! And for the gods to cleanse my boy whole-"

"Look, miss, I have every reason to believe your son's innocent! If you would just give me a chance to talk with him-"

"You're nothing but lying filth, the both of ya! Now leave my sight! Or I will smack you out of town with this broom!" The woman raised an old, faded broom of straw. "This broom has seen a lot, been _through_ a lot! It's survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki and-"

"Alright, alright!" Izuku interrupted, sensing an insanity-laced rant from the woman. "We'll leave, we'll leave!"

The woman scowled at him with distrust, but after a few seconds, she withdrew, allowing the ugly curtains to settle back in place. With that, Izuku started walking back the way he came, with Mei following him shortly after.

"Wow, no wonder Mineta's got a pretty low opinion of girls," the otaku remarked.

"You could say that again..." replied Izuku absentmindedly.

"So, whaddaya say, Midoriya?" She smiled at him enthusiastically. "Through the back window?"

Izuku sighed and stopped in his tracks. After a moment of consideration, he removed his backpack, set it on the ground, and zipped it open, revealing the Yamikumo costume with its musky scent and stained appearance.

"Through the back window..." The green-haired boy sighed again as he pulled out the costume. "I gotta come up with an explanation for my mom about this..."

* * *

The Sun was already setting in the horizon by the time Izuku and Mei approached the tree planted behind the apartment complex. Both teens looked up at the rows of windows and closely examined their position to the tree.

"There!" Mei cried, pointing towards one particular window on the second floor. "That's _gotta_ be Mineta's apartment!"

"How do you know that?" Izuku asked, all the while scratching his clothed neck.

"Because who else would use those ugly curtains for their room?"

"...Good point."

"And it's just next to the tippity-top of that tree! It's perfect! All you have to do is climb up there, knock on the window, and hope he answers and not that Hutt of a mother!"

"W-Wait, _me_?!" He looked at her incredulously. "What'll _you_ do?"

"Well, I'm gonna keep a lookout as a good sidekick! And besides, just because Mineta's innocent, doesn't mean he'll keep his cool as soon as he sees a hot girl like me."

Mei did a pose that was meant to be seductive, but she clearly had no conception of seduction and the pose looked more laughable than anything else. Regardless, Izuku looked away from it. Realizing she had a point, the boy simply narrowed his eyes with determination and approached the base of the tree. Looking up, he saw that the nearest branch was still an entire foot out of his reach.

"Hey, Hatsume," he said. "D'you think you can boost me up?"

"Anything for you, Yamikumo!" Mei exclaimed. She saluted briefly before running up to her partner and crouching a little, all the while holding out her hands like a stirrup.

Izuku quickly sighed before placing his foot on her hands. "Pl-_Please_ don't call me that..."

"Says the guy dressed up in a Yamikumo cosplay." Mei adjusted her legs. "Alright, I-I'm ready."

Izuku blinked with shock. He could've sworn he saw a glimmer of apprehension pass through the girl's eyes. He removed his foot from her hands and stared at her with concern.

"H-Hey," he said, "are you sure you can do this? If you can't, I can boost you up-"

The confidence returned to Mei's face. "Nuh-uh! I ain't talking to the pervert accused of stealing a bunch of underwear! It will damage my reputation!"

_"What reputation...?"_ Izuku thought.

Then, he nodded reluctantly. "Alright, then. Get ready, Hatsume."

The boy placed his foot on her hands again, and this time, Hatsume willed all the strength she had into her arms. At the same time, Izuku willed all the energy he thought he never had into the foot still touching the ground, propelling it from the dry soil. The green-haired boy felt himself lift a few inches off the ground and he immediately stretched his arms out, reaching for the branch in his sights.

His left hand missed.

_"Oh, crap! Oh, _crap_! I'm gonna fall on top of Hatsume! Please! _Reach_!"_

His right hand found its target. Pain started traveling through his right arm almost immediately, and Izuku remembered at that moment that his arms were still in casts. With a loud, pained moan, he closed his eyes, wrapped both of his legs around the tree trunk, and curled the rest of his arm around the branch, leveraging himself.

He opened his eyes and was greeted with severe blurriness. His mask felt wet.

"You doing alright there, Midoriya?!" Mei called.

Though she was only a short distance down, her voice seemed to barely reach Izuku's ears, as if she was calling from a greater distance. Trying to endure the immense pain to his arms, Izuku sniffled and shakily used his forearm to wipe the residue of tears from his mask.

Then, he replied, "Y-Yeah... I'm...I'm fine..."

"Alright! You go get 'im, Superhero-san!"

Izuku bit his lower lip, then he crawled up the trunk and managed to mount the tree branch. Once the pain subsided to a mere prickling sensation, he started shaking the branch with all the remaining strength he could muster into his arm. As soon as he assured himself that the branch wouldn't break under his weight, Izuku stood up on his two feet and uneasily shuffled further towards the end of said branch. The curtains of pale-blue and mustard-yellow were within his sights.

"You got this, Midoriya!" Mei called suddenly, eliciting a terrified squeak from Izuku, who nearly lost his balance.

"Hatsume!" the green-haired boy snapped as he tried to regain his footing. "D-D-Don't sc-sc-scream like th-th-that!"

"Oh! Sorry!"

Izuku growled with irritation as soon as he regained his balance. Then, he slowly tiptoed to the end of the branch, which was just a couple of inches away from Minoru's window. As he did, he could feel the old, thick branch start to buckle.

_"Okay, Izuku,"_ he thought. _"Stay calm. Just stay calm. You've got this."_ He stopped and took a deep breath. _"You've got this..."_

He was about to continue when Minoru's window suddenly slid open, revealing the curly-haired, grape-like class pervert himself.

"Alright, Midoriya. whatever your game is, I don't have the time for it."

Izuku squeaked and nearly fell off the branch again, but he regained his footing. His mind started racing, and out of pure instinct, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"Midoriya?" he asked innocently, though his voice was clearly shaky. "I don't know who this Midoriya is! I'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone else-"

"Oh, drop the act, Midoriya," Minoru interrupted with exasperation. "I know it's you. Everyone knows what your costume looks like."

_"Oh, yeah... I forgot..."_

"So, if you'd please, Midoriya, just get it over with." The smaller boy's shoulders slumped slightly with defeat. "I've given up at this point."

"G-Ge-Get _what_ over with...?" asked Izuku.

"Calling me a pervert, a deviant, a loser, I dunno, maybe throw in an egg or two. Or probably a brick while you're at it. I don't care. I've been shouted at with every insult in the book within the past couple of hours. Namely from one particular person. It's not gonna affect me anymore-"

"N-No!"

Izuku stopped prematurely and checked if anyone else was watching from their apartment windows. Then, he crouched a little and held on to the branch with one hand.

"Look," he whispered, "I believe you-"

"Oh, save it, Midoriya," Minoru interrupted again in an irritated voice. "Your ruse isn't gonna work on me. So just skip the ass-kissing and gimme everything ya got-"

"I'm not gonna call you anything, Mineta, or throw an egg at you. I'm hear to tell you that I believed you when you said you didn't steal all those underwear."

"Yeah, right."

"I'm not trying to bait you into a vulnerable state, Mineta. I believe you."

"Heh heh, yeah, you believe the class pervert who tapes mirrors to his shoes so he can sneak quick peeks up girls' skirts. You think I'm deaf to all of the whispering that breaks out whenever I pass by? Oh, look! It's that Mineta pervert! Better cross your legs! Keep your distance! Don't talk to him! Stay away from him! He's a freak! He has no sense of respecting one's privacy! He can't keep his hands to himself!"

Izuku frowned disapprovingly. "They _are_ right, though. You have no respect at all towards women."

"Yeah, well...you can't help it when you're a guy like me..."

"No." Izuku came at full attention, and he edged a little closer. "You're wrong, Mineta. You _can_ help it. You just gotta look beyond physical appearances...and concerns about getting l-la-laid...and think more about doing the right thing-"

"Too late. I'm too deep into my habits." Minoru sighed and laid his head against the windowsill. "I bet everyone at school is saying I got what I deserved."

"Yep. They have."

Minoru sighed again. "I bet _you_ think I got what I deserved."

Izuku opened his mouth, but then he closed it. After a couple of seconds, he replied, "Yeah, yeah, I do. I _really_ do. You're a pervert, Mineta. A horrible, twisted, sick pervert." His grip on the branch tightened. "You intimidate and terrify innocent people just to satisfy your...s-s-se-sexual urges. The fact that it took the school _that long_ to expel you just _baffles_ me."

The purple-haired boy sneered slightly at him. "You call me a pervert, but you're just lying with your breath." He scanned Izuku's costumed form from head to toe. "Look at you, Midoriya. You're like me. We're rejects of society and we can't do a thing about it because we're wired a lil' different. Because of that, we retreat to lives of solitude, filled with nothing but books and computer screens. We allow the things we're preoccupied with to dominate our lives and our minds. You have your manga, I have my porn..." A guileful twinkle suddenly passed through Minoru's eye. "But I bet you look at porn just as much. Sometimes, manga and porn can be one and the same-"

"I'm not like you, Mineta," Izuku interrupted angrily. "Unlike you, I have female friends."

"Pfft. Yeah, right. I'm your classmate. I know _all_ about how everyone else views you as a weirdo-"

"Well, that's changed. I've got girls like Uraraka and Yaoyorozu and Kodai and Kendo who understand me and care about me. And NOT in the way that you think, Mineta! Whenever I'm around them, I don't even _think_ about getting my hands under their skirts. And because of my respect, they returned it to me in kind. They've let me in, Mineta, manga-reading hobbies and all. They've accepted me. Them, _and_ guys like Iida and Todoroki. I was once a loser, someone who everyone else didn't want to hang out with because they thought I would be an extra, a burden to society. But now, I've changed, all because of mutual acceptance and kindness...and I think you can change too, Mineta..."

Minoru stared for a moment, then he scoffed. "What're you talking about? Didn't you just call me a horrible, twisted, sick pervert?"

"Yes, and I meant every word of it, Mineta. But I also meant it when I said you could change. And I also meant it when I said I believed you."

"Why would you believe me?" Minoru looked away. "Everyone knows I did it... Heh. Hell, I probably _did_ do it and I'm just in denial about it-"

"If you really _did_ do this," interrupted Izuku, "then don't you think the police would've found the rest of the stolen items? Like you said, everyone knows you did it. If you _did_ do it, then the cat's already out of the bag, and there'd be no use in hiding the rest of the stash any longer."

"Like _I_ said, I'm probably just in denial over being caught with my hand inside the cookie jar. Or better yet, I blocked the memory of where I hid the other bras and panties from my mind. You know that can happen, right Midoriya? It's called a coping mechanism. I cannot accept the reality of the situation, so I hid all the relevant information away. That way, I can maintain the facade of innocence."

"If you're aware you're just using this coping mechanism, then can't you just try and recover those memories?"

"Psychology's complicated, Midoriya. Try taking a look at yourself in the mirror, right now, and you'll see what I'm talking about."

Izuku's heart fell. "...So...that's it, then? You're just...gonna take responsibility for what happened...?"

"Well, it all makes sense. What else can I do, Midoriya? I might as well." Minoru looked at Izuku and blinked upon seeing his bewildered green eyes shimmering through the mask. "Wow. You _do_ believe I'm innocent." He let out a single, hollow chuckle. "And to think _you_ were the one who turned me in."

Izuku promptly removed his mask, revealing his thick, unruly mat of green hair. He stared determinedly at Minoru.

"Mineta," he said, "I _will_ find out who did this to you. I promise you that."

"Midoriya," Minoru replied with defeat, "give it up. You're just overthinking this whole thing. Just imagine the headline for tomorrow. 'Class Pervert Expelled for Stealing Girls' Underwear'. Don't ya think it's got a better catch than 'Class Pervert Framed by Conspiracy in Girls' Underwear-Stealing Scheme'?"

Izuku stared at his former classmate, who stared back with a glum, defeated visage. After a minute of hard, unbearable silence, the green-haired boy put his mask back on and stared edging away from Minoru's window.

"You're right..." he replied.

"Midoriya," called Minoru, "you've got one hell of a guilt complex. I'd normally be pretty pissed at you for this sort of flip-flopping, but I can see you have your own mental problems. Maybe you should come to terms with them. At least I'm on my way in doing so."

Izuku didn't bother to respond or protest anymore. Instead, he reached the trunk, wrapped his arms and legs around it, and started climbing his way back down. He could hear Minoru sigh and close the window when he was midway down.

"Wow..." Mei remarked as soon as Izuku reached the ground. "That was one hell of a talk."

Izuku didn't face her. "You heard everything...?"

"_Hellooooooo_. Mineta was only on the second floor of that apartment, not the twenty-second." Her yellow eyes started to gleam with unbridled enthusiasm. "Sooooo...what do we do next?"

"There _is_ no next." Izuku turned around and slowly removed his mask, revealing shimmering green eyes. "Mineta's right, Hatsume. I'm...I'm just overthinking this..."

"Oh, come on, don'tcha give up on me! I know you know Mineta's innocent!"

"But I didn't find anything that would clear him of guilt." The boy looked down at the dry grass with defeat. "Plus, Mineta is convinced he did it. ...This manga's writing itself..."

"Not if we do something about it!" Mei wrapped an arm over Izuku's shoulders. "Come on, Superhero-san! We've still got a whole bunch of other angles to consider! Let's investigate, let's investigate!"

But the despondent Izuku shrugged off the otaku's arm and started walking away from the her. "No, Hatsume. I'm done playing this game." Toshinori Yagi's words returned to his mind. "It's time for you and me to accept reality."

"Oh, come _ooooon_, Midoriya! Where's that fighting spirit?! Where's that Yamikumo determination?! You just had it in ya a few minutes ago and I know it's still in ya!" Mei started punching the air enthusiastically. "Come on, Midoriya, we can get those Villains! Let's keep on fighting! Hya! Hya!"

...

"No, Hatsume."

All of the energy drained from the girl's face, and she watched as her schoolmate continued walking away. Izuku did not see it, but there was an actual look of concern and compassion on Mei's face.

Then-

"Okay, fine!" Mei called, the enthusiasm returning. "If you, the Hero, can't accept the facts of this situation, then it is my duty as the Sidekick to continue where ya left off! It's alright, Midoriya!" She saluted cheekily. "You can count on me!"

Izuku stopped and turned around. "_No_, Hatsu-"

He stopped when he saw Mei prancing off. He wanted to go after her, but he knew it was useless to stop her. Instead, the boy started to remove his Yamikumo costume.

_"This was so stupid..." _he thought._ "Why in the world did I have to drag Hatsume into this?! She's just gonna embarrass herself..."_

* * *

Izuku opened his eyes...and found himself back in the alley.

_**"Oh,**** no..."**_ he thought. _**"What am I doing back here? How'd I get here?!"**_

He looked around, expecting to see a large stream of pedestrians flowing right behind him. Instead, he saw nothing but the blackest of darkness. He faced the alley again and saw the only source of light was faint but extremely white, shining from the other end between the two dark walls.

Now, that he thought about it, the alley seemed strangely long...and narrow...

**"Hello?!"** he called. **"Is anyone there?! Can anyone hear me?!"**

**"Yeah, we can hear ya,"** a rough male voice replied from a short distance.

**"Oh, thank _goodness_! Where are you, sir?!"**

**"Right behind ya, kid."**

Izuku looked behind him again with a terrified gasp. At first, the boy saw only the darkness...until a pair of large, sinewy arms reached out from the pool of pitch-black and started grasping at him.

Izuku screamed and stared running, but with every step he took, he felt like he was going nowhere. The light at the end of the alleyway was still shining at him, taunting him, mocking him. With gritted teeth, Izuku tried to go much faster, but he didn't make as much progress as before.

He looked behind him again and saw the hands nearing even closer. As they did, he could see a red glint, small and faint but growing even brighter as the hands neared.

Izuku's heart started hammering hard against his sternum at this point, threatening to break through it and burst out of his chest. He could feel the sweat pouring down his face like dribbling water, but he refused to give up and kept running, even though the boy was going absolutely nowhere.

Then, the hands latched on his shoulders, drawing out a horrified scream from him.

**"Relax, kid,"** the voice said, and it was louder this time. **"I'll take _real_ good care of ya."**

**"LET ME GO!"** Izuku shrieked as he started resisting.

**"Not until ya pay me back for what ya did to me, Bunny Boy."**

Izuku's eyes widened with fear, and he looked over his shoulder once again. Emerging from the shadows was a head with short, spiky blond hair and a malevolent smirk. He had one good eye, while Izuku realized what the red glint from earlier was.

Blood, pouring down from the man's injured, shut left eye, streaking across half of his face.

**"_You_!"** Izuku cried with recognition.

**"Yes, me,"** the muscular man replied with a sinister chuckle. **"Now just relax. It'll all be over soon."**

He wrapped one of his arms around Izuku's neck and started squeezing, the tightness growing slowly minute by minute. Izuku gagged in no time and started struggling, but it was useless. The muscular man wrapped his other arm around the boy's arms and torso, restricting his movements. Izuku closed his eyes in terror.

**"Sorry, Bunny Boy. As much as I like a guy who can fight back...I can't let ya have an advantage like before. It ain't gonna work that way anymore."**

**"No! Ack!"**

**"Struggle all ya want. But I'm gonna pay you back for what ya did to me. It'll be nice and simple. Just accept it and it'll be more painless."**

**"H-_Help_!"**

**"Calling for help won't do ya any good. As you can see, no one gives a damn."**

Izuku opened his eyes and saw that the light had subsided. All of them were simply standing there: Ochako, Tenya, Mei, Yui, Momo, Shoto, Tsuyu, Itsuka, Mezo, Rikido, Himiko, Hiryu, and Kinoko. They were doing nothing to help him.

**"See?" **the muscular man continued tauntingly.** "They couldn't give two shits about you. You're such a failure to them. A freak."**

**"No..."** Izuku whispered with his last breath. He desperately wanted the man to be proven wrong, that any one of them would spring to action and save him...

But no one did that. Instead, they stood as still as statues, regarding him with a shared expression of indifference. Even Shoto looked extremely callous in his usual stoicism. Their eyes were hollow as they stared sharply, coldly.

With that, Izuku prepared to close his eyes and allow death to take him-

**"NO!"**

He heard grunts and bodies being pushed aside, followed by the sound of running. Izuku opened his eyes and-

* * *

"Huh?"

Izuku was back on his bed. At first, he could only see darkness, and it was as pitch-black as the pit of shadows from his nightmare. He could faintly make out the outline of a slender, feminine form, frozen in mid-sprint. Then, once his green eyes adjusted to the absence of light, the outline slowly faded away into nothingness and was replaced by the dark, dark blue hue that was cast across his bedroom ceiling.

_"A dream..."_ Izuku thought. _"It was all just...a bad dream... That's...That's all it was..."_

He sat up on his bed and looked towards the nearby window. The first traces of twilight were peering through the gaps in his drawn blinds.

"It's almost daytime," he said to himself.

* * *

"I'm off to school, Mom!"

Izuku stumbled towards the door while simultaneously putting on his other shoe. He was about to open the front door of the apartment when he heard his mother's voice address him, softly and timidly.

"Izuku, sweetie?"

He looked over his shoulder and saw her entering the hallway, fiddling with her flower-patterned apron. A sense of déjà vu swept Izuku's senses for a moment, but he quickly dismissed it.

"Yes, Mom?" he asked, his voice indifferent.

Inko merely stared at him, her eyes, as green as his, shimmering with concern. Her stare was so intense that Izuku just couldn't turn away from it. He could see the bags under her eyes, and began to glumly think about the strain of the two jobs she was juggling with.

Eventually, she asked, "Are you alright, honey?"

Izuku stared back at her for a moment before replying, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I know you're lying, Izuku." Her voice brought a chill down Izuku's spine, but he allowed her to continue. "Sweetie, are your friends making fun of you?"

"Wh-Wh-_What_?! N-_No_, Mom! I love my friends! They're so cool! E-E-Especially U-U-Uraraka..."

Inko stared at her son and only child for a long moment, intensely reading his expression for anything, even the slightest twitch, that would betray the truthful facade he was trying to convey. But she didn't see anything on his face that would indicate otherwise.

"Okay, I believe you." She crossed her arms with concern. "Then tell me, what's bothering you?"

_"Mom knows I'm bothered by something__,"_ Izuku thought. _"She's one heck of a mind-reader."_

"You have to tell me, sweetie. I know how tough this past couple of weeks have been for you, and I..." She bit her lower lip for a brief moment. "I can't bear seeing you get eaten up by whatever demons you have. The last time I believed you when you said you were alright, you were beaten up by those criminals. So...I am _not_ gonna let you outta here until you tell me what's bothering you, young man."

Izuku's shoulders slumped with defeat. _"I can't lie to her. Not this time. She already blames herself for what happened to me last week..."_

"R-Re-Remember my classmate...?" he asked. "The one who got expelled yesterday...?"

"Oh, yeah! I actually just read it in the newspaper."

_**"**_**_Just imagine the headline for tomorrow. 'Class Pervert Expelled for Stealing Girls' Underwear'. Don't ya think it's got a better catch than 'Class Pervert Framed by Conspiracy in Girls' Underwear-Stealing Scheme'?"_**

Izuku's expression softened, which Inko noticed. "Izuku, sweetie," she said, "was that boy...your friend...?"

"Wh-_What_?!" Izuku started waving his hands frantically. "N-N-_No_, Mom! Wh-Wh-What makes you th-th-think _that_?!"

"Why else would you be so bothered by his expulsion?"

"I..._I_ was the one who turned him in..."

Inko's eyes widened. "You _what_?"

"I turned him in. I...I overheard him talking about going into the girls' locker room while everyone was out for P.E. When I heard..._things_ were taken from that same room, I just put two and two together, and...I told the teacher. I'm..._I'm_ the reason that boy got expelled, Mom. And now his life is miserable because of me..."

Realizing what he meant, Inko took a couple of steps forward in consolation. "That boy, he did a very bad thing, sweetie. You did the right thing by turning him in."

"But...they still didn't find all of the things that were taken." The boy averted his gaze. "That... That makes me think he might've been the wrong guy..."

"Honey, that's for the police to handle, not you. You did your part, and now you gotta trust the police to do theirs."

Izuku suddenly scoffed. "If trust were nickels for the police to take, then they'd probably do their jobs a whole lot more effectively in this town..."

"Izuku, I know things aren't as good around here as they once were, but you still have to trust the police. We should be grateful they were responsive enough to arrest that Mineta boy. You know, Izuku, it's people like that boy that make me so relieved sometimes that I have a son like you instead of a daughter."

He looked at his mother with bewilderment. "H-_Huh_?"

"I know, I know, that's a pretty cruel thing of me to say. But you know men this day and age can be quite distrustful and disrespectful towards women... And...I would never live with myself if I knew I produced a girl and brought her into this toxic culture of ours..."

Izuku looked down at the floor solemnly, the memories of the girl in the alleyway returning to him. Then, he immediately remembered his nightmare, the muscular man...and his triumphant smirk...

"Mom...?" he asked.

Inko's attention was piqued. "Yes, sweetie?"

"It would _not_ be your fault, no matter what happens or what you say. No one deserves to be treated like trash. It doesn't matter what the gender is. The only ones at fault are the people who treat other people that way. They're... They're just feeling miserable with themselves and are just projecting their frustration onto others."

"Well...I suppose..." Then, Inko smiled. "No, you're right. I'm sorry about that, sweetie."

"It's alright, Mom." He readjusted the straps of his backpack. "Okay, I gotta go. I can't be late-"

"Izuku, sweetie!" Inko called beseechingly. "O-One last thing!"

He looked at his mother once again. "Yeah, Mom?"

That was when he noticed her fond smile, completely devoid of exhaustion. It was the first time he had seen her with so much energy and vibrancy flowing through her face, not since...

"I'm so, _so_ glad that you're my son. You're not a pervert like many men nowadays." Her smile widened even more. "You read people by the size of their character, not by the size of their cups."

Izuku blinked. "Wh-_What_...?"

The middle-aged woman's face abruptly turned as florid as the flowers that she would keep next to the kitchen sink. She started sputtering and waving her hands frantically in the air.

"Oh, my! What am I saying?! That was so embarrassing of me! I promise, Izuku sweetie, I'll forget everything that I just said! I'll purge it from my mind! Just forget that I said that! Just know that I love you and cherish you and am very, very proud of the person you've become and-"

She was cut off when Izuku opened up the front door, allowing the sunlight to pour into the hallway. It was a sunny day outside, and the atmosphere was just as ordinary and peaceful as yesterday and the day before.

"I love you too, Mom," he replied with a gentle smile. "I'll see you later."

He stepped out and closed the door behind him. However, instead of departing, he remained still, adjusting the focus of his hearing to the inside of his apartment. He could hear Inko squealing with delight at the approval she received before prancing back into the kitchen. Izuku smiled to himself and started to leave.

**_"I'm so, so glad that you're my son. You're not a pervert like many men nowadays. You read people by the size of their character, not by the size of their cups."_**

_"What a very funny thing to say,"_ he thought. _"Reading people by the size of their cups. What was Mom thinking...?"_

**_"_****_You read people by the size of their character, not by the size of their cups."_**

Izuku stopped at the foot of the staircase. _"The size of their cups... Wait..."_

**_"_****_It's a double-D."_**

_"Wait a minute..."_

**_"Read the tag."_**

_"...No way."_

Izuku's green eyes became so enlarged that they were almost the size of saucers. With a mouth that was hanging open, the boy started running down the stairs. He ran so fast that he was skipping every other step and was dangerously close to suffering a fatal fall.

But he didn't care. All he had in his mind was one thought, which was fueling him with newfound energy.

_"Mineta's innocent, and I can prove it!"_

* * *

"Whaddaya want, Midoriya?"

Nemuri Kayama looked up at Izuku, her face completely etched with boredom and moroseness. As she regarded him, he couldn't help but take a quick scan of her body from head to toe. He had never approached her in person before, even if she was his history teacher. Now, it was pretty clear why she was the talk of all the boys in the school. In stark contrast to her physical appearance, though, her exhausted and noncommittal expression was enough to turn even someone like Minoru Mineta off.

Quickly restoring his gaze before Kayama got suspicious, Izuku asked, "Y-You're the adviser for the Manga & Anime Club, right?"

"The Manga & Anime Club?" Kayama arched an eyebrow as she struggled to remember. "Oh, right. Hatsume's club." She glanced at the stack of papers before her. "Why do you ask?"

"D-Do you know when and where the club meets?"

"How should I know?"

Izuku blinked thrice. "You're their _adviser_..."

"Yeah, but only in name..." Kayama yawned as she flipped through the pages of one paper. "Hatsume's the one who calls all the shots in her club. You wanna know more, go ask her."

"Okay... And where would I find her...?"

Kayama's gaze didn't break away from the paper whatsoever as she replied, "I dunno." She flipped through another page with indifference. "But you can't miss her. Brace yourself when you find her, though. She's quite a character."

_"Yeah, I know..."_ Izuku thought. Then, he turned around and said, "Thank you, Kayama-sensei."

Kayama issued a bored, nonchalant huff in response, but Izuku knew better than to expect more from her. So, he simply left the classroom and walked down the hallway. There were already students present, eating lunch and chatting happily with one another, but he didn't bother to listen in on their conversations.

_"Okay..."_ he thought. _"If I were Hatsume, where would I go...?"_

A couple of minutes passed, and he found himself back in the school cafeteria, which was currently packed with students from the usual circles. He stared at the table where he found Mei and her club before, only to find it surprisingly empty.

_"Huh, that's weird... She usually hangs around here with her club. I wonder where she could've..."_

**_"If you, the Hero, can't accept the facts of this situation, then it is my duty as the Sidekick to continue where ya left off! It's alright, Midoriya! You can count on me!"_**

_"She _didn't_..."_

* * *

**A/N:** And it looks like Izuku may have cracked the case after some initial self-doubt! So the real question is, who did he peg as the real culprit? Will he be able to prove it and restore Mineta's reputation? (Or at least whatever's left.) Find out in the next chapter!

Anyway, I actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter! I think I may have stumbled a little during the beginning but then things got interesting when I got to the conversation between Izuku and Mineta. Now, this may be an unpopular opinion, but I actually like Mineta and his character. Sure, his perverted nature can be annoying and quite contradictory, given he wants to be a Hero and all, but I see it as more hilarious than anything given how much of a wannabe he is. Plus, people seem to forget the fact that he actually _is_ pretty smart; he's listed behind Momo in terms of intelligence stats. His horny instincts just happen to be stronger to the point where it weighs him down.

So yeah, I think Mineta doesn't get a lot of love from the fans, even if his more well-known behavior makes this standing a little deserved. Therefore, it was quite fun developing him a little here and having him come to terms with the fact that he is too perverted for his own good. I can't wait to see where I take his character next when the real-life superhero stuff actually comes rolling around! :D

Now then, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing the previous chapter:

**-Haro654:** No, it's not Kaminari, actually. I'll just say, right now, that NO ONE from both of the Hero classes in the main universe is the thief in this AU. That should narrow down the list of suspects.

**-****Mazongian:**

**1)** Oh. Sorry about the parallels my story was helping to set up. But I'm glad to know things are turning around here.

**2)** Like I mentioned above, no one from the Hero courses in the main universe is going to commit a serious criminal act in this AU. So it's not going to be Mineta, or any other Hero-in-training with a notable perverted nature, for that matter.

**-YukiNikki:**

**1)** I was actually aware of that when I wrote the previous chapter, and of course I addressed it here in this chapter. The whole costume recognition dilemma is actually meant to segue into something Deku-related that we all know and love.

**2)** Yeah, it will be a bit of a long road to recovery between Izuku and Katsuki and his friends, one full of drama, actually.

**3)** HOORAY FOR HATSUME! :D Seriously though, I absolutely ENJOY writing her character, even in an AU setting like this. Conveying her energy and otaku-like enthusiasm literally gives me a boost of my own enthusiasm.

**4)** Oh, you'll see how Izuku and Mina will end up together. ;)

**-MarvelNinja10:**

**1)** Nope, it's definitely not Monoma. If the character in question is a Hero-in-training in the main universe, then the thief is not him or her. So that criteria rules out Tokoyami as well.

**2)** It's warm and sunny down at good ole Cali. It's nothing particularly special at the moment. And I do hope I didn't jinx myself by saying that. XP

**-SilentReader97:**

**1)** No, I have not, nor have I even heard of it. But I looked it up when I saw your review, and I must say, I now see why you brought it up. Perhaps I'll give it a look-see when I have the time, to give me some further inspiration for this fic.

**2)** Yes, the girl who was abused in the alleyway is DEFINITELY going to be relevant to the story.

**3)** No, it's neither Monoma nor Tokoyami. Rest assured, my dear reader, your favorite is safe and sound. :)

**-****Tasia'sENDLESSDreams:**

**1)** You're so welcome! It's a signature of mine, so expect further responses to your reviews. :)

**2)** Oh, it will be an interesting dynamic between the two, especially given Mina is more popularly paired with Eijiro than Izuku himself, from what I've seen of fan-made works.

**3)** Well, after stumbling a couple of times, Izuku has now found his resolve and a good reason to continue with his quest to prove Mineta's innocence! And trust me, you're in for a stunning conclusion to that mini-arc in the next chapter!

**4)** I checked your fic out a little when I saw your review. I must say, I'm not really well-versed in music and the arts, so I'm not sure what kind of constructive feedback I have for you that would help you out. I only choose to review fics that I have read if I have an idea on what to say, but that can only be possible if I have a good grip and understanding of the premise. Not that your fic is confusing to me or anything; it's just the subject matter is a little out of my comprehension bubble. Sorry.

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	10. Planting the Seeds

_"She _did_..."_

Izuku walked up to the door to the boys' locker room, which was still taped off by police barricade tape. To his disbelief, he saw not only Mei standing there, but also her club members: Nirengeki Shoda, Manzo Fukidashi, Paula Tsunotori, and Toru Hagakure. Mei was in a heroic pose as she faced the closed door, while Nirengeki stared at her apprehensively, as if she was instead in the middle of a psychotic breakdown.

"A-A-Are you s-s-sure about th-th-this...?" Nirengeki asked in a severe stutter.

"Y-Yeah," added Manzo. "I-Isn't this, like, against the _law_?"

"Have no fear, everyone!" Mei proclaimed in her usual boisterous voice. "It is our duty as Midoriya's Sidekicks to help him solve this crime! We _will_ find out who framed Minoru Mineta and we _will_ bring the true Villain to justice!"

"Are you _sure_ Mineta didn't do it?" Toru asked timidly.

"Yeah," Nirengeki added. "I'm pegging Mineta for this, one-hundred percent."

"Same here," remarked Manzo.

"Mm-hm, mm-hm!" Paula vocalized.

Izuku let out a deep exhale before replying, "Mineta didn't do it, guys."

Everyone turned around and saw Izuku approaching them. Out of surprise, Toru hid behind Paula, preventing the green-haired boy from seeing her face again.

As for Mei, she pranced forward and took Izuku's hands with delight.

"Ah, Midoriya!" she squealed. "I'm SO glad ya had a change of heart! I _knew_ ya had it in ya! Like a true Yamikumo! Now come on, Midoriya!" Mei escorted Izuku to the taped-off door. "Show us how ya got in!"

But Izuku broke away from her grip. "Three things. One: I'm not breaking into that room ever again."

Mei pouted instantly. "Ah, come _on_! We'll find something in there this time, I just _know_ it!"

"I don't think we will, Hatsume. Oh, and two: why's the rest of your club here?"

The otaku smiled proudly. "I recruited 'em! They are all your loyal, faithful Sidekicks, and they're happy to help!"

Izuku glared at them, prompting Nirengeki to reply, "More like she _dragged_ us into helping out."

"I dunno," Paula remarked innocently. "This is a lil' fun so far."

Toru meekly nodded behind her fellow club member. Izuku sighed and looked at Mei again.

"And three..." He hesitated for a moment. "I already know who actually did it."

"_Whhhaaaaat_?!" Mei cried, her yellow eyes seemingly sparkling.

"Who _actually_ did it?" Manzo repeated with suspicion. "Don't tell me you buy Hatsume's story about Mineta being framed and all of that-"

"_I'm_ the one who suggested it in the first place," Izuku interrupted defensively.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Nirengeki exclaimed. "Hold the phone right there! Look, I was in that locker room when Mineta got caught. If I can recall, _you_ were the one who outed him, Midoriya!"

"Yes... That's right..."

"Then why'd you have a change of heart? You told Kan-sensei you heard Mineta talk about the girls' locker room and how no one was guarding it! That sounds like it was the perfect time for Mineta to strike!"

"That's true, I _did_ hear Mineta talk about the girls' locker room...but in that same conversation, he was begging someone to keep an eye out for him just in case. That guy was my classmate Fumikage Tokoyami. He didn't agree to the plan and Mineta got angry. But Mineta's a classmate of mine, and I know he's very smart. He wouldn't risk going through with the plan he created if he felt it was going to be a two-man operation."

"Or he was probably desperate," suggested Paula. "Perverts are perverts no matter what tune they sing."

"That's what I thought at first. And who wouldn't? No one wants to second-guess the class pervert."

"Then why did _you_, Midoriya?" Nirengeki asked.

"Because I did think about it, and something didn't feel right with the story."

"What's there _not_ to feel right about?" asked Manzo. "Mineta's a pervert, a sexual deviant, Midoriya. He wouldn't hesitate to do something like that."

"Maybe, but all he's done before the break-in was try to sneak peeks under girls' skirts and try to get a little whiff of their scents. Yes, it's disgusting and intolerable, but to break into the girls' locker room and steal a whole bunch of underwear is a pretty big jump from that, isn't it?"

"_Or_, like Tsunotori said, Mineta was desperate." Manzo crossed his arms. "Your logic isn't pretty sound, Midoriya. Why're you sticking up for Mineta?"

Izuku narrowed his green eyes slightly. "Because I _know_ he didn't do it. I know I'm the one who turned him in, but after thinking about it, I now know I was mistaken."

"Okay," replied Nirengeki. "You say he didn't do it. You also said you knew who _really_ did it. Tell us, Midoriya, who do _you_ peg for stealing all those underwear from the girls' locker room?"

Izuku opened his mouth, but then he closed it for a moment in perplexity. Finally, he replied, "I don't know his name-"

"In other words, you're grasping, Midoriya."

"Hey, hey, listen to him, you guys!" Mei exclaimed, standing beside Izuku and crossing her arms defensively. "Midoriya's a very smart guy and he knows what he's saying! Plus, the cops didn't find the rest of the stolen underwear, right? So if Midoriya knows who framed Mineta, then perhaps we might find the rest of the stash! We'll be heroes, like the guys from _Our Hero Academia_!"

"_Or_ the cops can just keep hammering Mineta with questions until he finally caves," Manzo replied.

"Midoriya, Hatsume," Paula said softly, "the police _have_ their guy. What else is there to look for?"

"I agree," added Nirengeki. He started walking away with his hands in his pockets. "We're wasting our time with this, you guys. Let's get back to the cafeteria. I'm starving-"

"Shoda," Izuku called, stopping the small teenager in his tracks, "where's your gym locker?"

Nirengeki turned around. "_What_?"

Izuku faced him. "You said you were there when I turned Mineta in. Were you watching?"

"Yeah, I was. I was sitting on the other end of the same bleachers as Mineta. I saw the whole thing."

"Then you saw how Mineta opened the door and saw all of the underwear inside, yes?"

"Well, yeah. B-But I actually didn't see the underwear itself; I just-"

"_Exactly_," Izuku interrupted. A light had suddenly entered his eyes, and his voice became more animated. "Now, do you remember what cup size one of the bras was?"

"Wh-What _cup size_?!" Nirengeki repeated with disbelief.

"Midoriya, have you gone mad or something?" Paula asked curiously.

"Shoda, do you remember what cup size one of the bras was?" Izuku asked again.

"How the heck am I supposed to know, Midoriya?! Like I said, I didn't see the underwear itself!"

"And that's exactly my point!"

Nirengeki sighed exasperatedly. "I'm not following, Midoriya..."

"Shoda, there was someone near you who knew what cup size one of the bras was. He wasn't near Mineta's locker at all, yet he was somehow able to say, with confidence, that one of the bras was a double-D. He even brought up a tag."

**_"Man, look at the size of _that_ green one."_**

**_"The girl wearing it must have some serious knockers!"_**

**_"I wonder what cup size it is..."_**

**_"It's gotta be a C at most!"_**

**_"No, fools. It's a double-D. Read the tag."_**

"Oh, _yeaaaaah_!" Manzo said, his eyes widening with realization. "I remember hearing someone say something like that."

Nirengeki looked down at the ground for a moment, processing the newest revelation. Then, he looked back up at Izuku, his eyes still exhibiting reluctance.

"How are we supposed to know that guy wasn't just lucky in his guess, Midoriya?" he asked.

"Shoda!" Mei exclaimed, hopping between her club member and the green-haired boy. "Midoriya said this guy mentioned a tag! A _tag_, Shoda! How'd he know what cup size the bra was?! How'd he even know this very bra had a tag?"

"Because he read the tag..." Paula replied, astounded. Then, she shook her head. "I dunno, guys... It sounds like a really convincing alternative and all, but how're we gonna prove it? You said you didn't even know who this guy was, Midoriya."

"Maybe not," said Izuku, "but I have to find out who he is. There's still a lot of stolen items that're missing and Mineta is suffering for it." He glanced at the doorway to the boys' locker room. "Maybe I'll wait till P.E. I can find him then."

"If you're gonna find that guy, Midoriya," Mei said, "then ya can count me in!" She jabbed a thumb into her well-endowed chest with pride. "As your Sidekick, I gotta help you take down this Villain once and for all!"

"Sidekick?" asked Manzo. "Villain? Hatsume, this isn't _Our Hero Academia_."

"We can still pretend it is!" The pink-haired otaku grabbed Manzo and Paula's hands and tugged at them. "Come on, you guys! This'll be fun!"

"If _you_ say it's gonna be fun, then I fear for my life."

Mei smiled craftily. "Says the guy who's a part of _myyyyy_ club..."

"Because there's no other club like it!" Then, he sighed with defeat. "_Fine_. I'll help. A friend of my onee-chan's is affected by this anyway, so I might as well pitch in if it means recovering the rest of the stolen underwear."

"I guess I'll join too," Paula added. "We haven't done much as a club lately, and I'm bored, so I might as well. As long as it doesn't involve breaking into the locker room like we were about to do, then I'm game." Then, she looked at Toru, who had still been hiding behind her, much to Izuku's surprise. "What about you, Hagakure? You in too?"

"I-I suppose..." Toru replied meekly.

"Alright, then!" Mei shouted loudly. Then, she looked at Nirengeki, who still looked ambivalent. "What about _you_, Shoda? Ya ready to be a Hero or what?!"

Nirengeki looked from Mei to Izuku and back. Izuku noticed how torn the other boy looked between sticking to his better judgment and indulging in one of Mei's crazy activities.

_"I can't say that I blame him..."_ the green-haired boy thought with sympathy.

Finally, Nirengeki replied, "_Fine_. It's not like I have any other choice anyway. So I'll bite."

"YES!" Mei shouted with delight. She grabbed Izuku's hands and started shaking them violently, threatening to knock the poor boy off-balance. "We did it, Midoriya, we did it! We have a whole bunch of new Sidekicks to call our own! Ohhhhhh, this is gonna be _sooooo_ exciting!"

"_Our_ own?" said Paula. "Didn't you just call yourself Midoriya's Sidekick, Hatsume?"

Mei looked at her jubilantly. "Well, since I helped out with the recruitment process, I think I'll promote myself to full-time Hero!" Then, she started to swoon with wonder. "Ahhh, full-time Hero... I like the sound of that!"

"Where do ya think we are, kindergarten?!" Manzo exclaimed. "We're _not_ playing- Oh, never mind..."

The otaku ignored her club member and started hopping, her energy now completely unrestrained.

"Ooh, ooh, we should give ourselves code-names, guys!" she exclaimed.

"C-Co-Code-names...?" Toru asked hesitantly.

"Yeah! Just like the Hero names in _Our Hero Academia_!" Mei started thinking and Izuku could almost see the gears in her head whirring at top speed. "I think I'll beeeee...Gadget Master!"

"Gadget Master?" asked Nirengeki. "Where'd _that_ come from, Hatsume?"

"I dunno. I see myself as the tinkerer type."

"I've never seen you tinker with _anything_ in all the months I've known you..."

"How 'bout you, Shoda?"

"What, me? How am I supposed to-?"

"You'll be Mines!" Mei interrupted.

"M-Mi-_Mines_?!" sputtered the smaller boy. "Wh-Where'd _that_ come from?!"

"'Cause you like that _Gals und Panzer_ anime, that's why! And you!" Ignoring Nirengeki's deep-red blush, she pointed at Manzo. "You always have your nose in those American comic books, so I'll call you Comicman!"

"Co-_Comicman_?!" Manzo exclaimed with bewilderment. Then, his expression quickly relaxed as he considered the name. "Actually...I like that sound of that..."

"What about me?!" Paula cried, enthusiasm quickly filling her face. "What about me?! Who am I gonna be?!"

"You'll be..." Mei thought about it for a moment. "Pony!"

Paula gasped, but her eyes were sparkling with wonder. "_Pony_... My favorite animal in the whole wide world..."

"Just as I thought! And you, Hagakure!" She pointed a finger at Toru, who squeaked and hid further behind Paula. "I still don't know what you look like, so I think I'll call you Invisible Girl!"

"Uhhh, _I_ know what she looks like..." Nirengeki said flatly.

"As do I-" began Manzo.

"And _you_, Midoriya!" Mei turned towards Izuku, who was startled by the sheer giddiness in her expression, giddiness that almost bordered insanity. "You'll be Yamikumo!"

Upon hearing that ever-so-familiar name, Izuku pursed his lips and turned away from the others. He took a deep breath and flexed his fingers.

"Don't call me that," he said quietly. "I...I don't deserve to be called that..."

"Why not?" Paula asked. "You already dress up like him, Midoriya-"

"_Don't_ call me that name," Izuku said, putting even more force into his voice. "Ju-Just call me Midoriya. The person we're looking for...he doesn't even know who we are, anyway. There's no point in trying to hide our real names from him."

"But don'tcha wanna pretend we're students of U.A. High, solving a crime on our own?!" Mei exclaimed.

"No, Hatsume. We may pretend all we want, but this is still the real world. We don't have any uncanny abilities to call our own, nor any special support tech. I thought I could pretend, but all of that changed when I actually had to save Uraraka and Kodai weeks ago. That was when I learned the truth. At the end of the day, we are just ordinary kids, trying to make a difference. No more, no less."

The green-haired boy started walking away, and as he did, he put his hands into his pockets. His mind started to become haunted by the dark, grimy alleyway again. He grimaced.

"I'll see you guys during P.E."

* * *

"Midoriya!"

"Here!"

Izuku relaxed his posture as soon as Kan passed him. He watched him go for a moment before looking at Nirengeki and Manzo, who both nodded at him. Izuku nodded back, right before catching movement in the corner of his eye. He looked at Neito and realized he was watching him, his usual arrogant smirk crawling upon his face. Izuku frowned angrily at him before hearing Kan's voice again.

"Alright, boys!" Kan stared pacing around in front of the boys. "I'm sure you've all heard about what happened to Mineta. He's been arrested for breaking-and-entering and theft, and he'll be formally charged later today. All this because he was thinking with his pants instead of his brain. I trust that the rest of you aren't as stupid as he is. Or is my trust misplaced? ...This is the part where you say, 'No, Kan-sensei!'"

"No, Kan-sensei!" the boys recited fearfully.

"N-No, Kan-sensei!" Izuku replied, a little late on the mark.

"Good! Now, just to make sure none of you will go back on your word and fall into the same damn trap as Mineta did, I'll start this period off by having you run a mile around the track! The girls will be joining you shortly, but don't even _think_ about sneaking a look somewhere! I've got my eyes on all of you perverts! Got it?!"

"Yes, Kan-sensei!" the boys replied fearfully.

"Y-Yes, Kan-sensei!" Izuku replied, a little late on the mark.

"Alright, now move, move, move! Your muscles aren't gonna develop by themselves, ya know!"

The boys started jogging towards the track, where they found a group of girls waiting. They were receiving similar orders from their own P.E. teacher, Rumi Usagiyama.

"Wow, look at all those legs..." a voice said a couple of feet away from Izuku.

"_Yeah_..." replied a second voice. "Man, look at 'em! So slim and toned!"

"Oh, _please_," a third voice interjected. "You pervs and your legs! _Bloomers_ are where the real fun's at!"

"Yeah, you got a point. I mean, that kinda garment is so tight and is constantly rubbing against the cheeks, if you know what I mean!"

Izuku clenched his fists and restrained a growl of disgust as the trio started to snicker lasciviously. He was about to tune out of the conversation when the first boy spoke again.

"Hey, speakin' of bloomers, do ya know if Mustard has any in stock?"

"Nah, he didn't mention any. Just plain bras and panties."

Izuku stopped in his tracks. _"Mustard?"_ he thought. _"Bras and panties...in _stock_? If...If this Mustard guy is the real thief, then that means...he's _selling _the rest of the items he stole...?"_

"Hey, Midoriya! _Move_!"

Izuku squeaked at the sound of Kan's bark. "Y-Yes, Kan-sensei!"

He fell back into line, his mind racing with many thoughts and strategies as the boys entered the track. At that moment, their group merged with the girls', and Izuku saw Mei waving energetically at him while Paula and Toru were flanking her sides. He quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching, then he moved over to join the trio of girls.

"Hey, Midoriya!" Mei cried loudly. "So, what's the plan?! We gonna pounce on the thief when we find him or what?!"

"Shhhhh!" Izuku looked around again worriedly. "Keep the noise level down, Hatsume!"

"Uh-uh! It ain't Hatsume today! Call me..._Gadget Master_..."

Paula flatly stared at the club leader. "I don't know why you have to say it so quietly, Hat- I mean, _Gadget Master_. You're not being mysterious or anything by doing that..."

"I just wanted to sound _cool_, though! Anyway, what's the plan?"

"Okay," Izuku replied. "I think I have a lead-"

"Oooooh, a _lead_! Well, that was easy! Let's-"

"Hold on, Hatsume! I still don't know if he's the thief or it's just a coincidence. I have to get the bottom of it first."

"You mean _we_ have to get to the bottom of it."

Izuku blinked. "R-Right. S-Sorry, I...I forgot..."

"Alright, everyone!" Usagiyama suddenly announced, as she and Kan put whistles into their mouths. "On our whistle!"

With that, both coaches blew their whistles, prompting everyone to start running and following the track field. Naturally, Izuku, Mei, Paula, and Toru fell to the rear of the pack, as did Nirengeki and Manzo.

"Hey, we're in this together, Midoriya!" Mei said. "Like Hero and Sidekick!"

"I thought you promoted yourself to full-fledged Hero, Hatsume...?" Nirengeki asked.

Mei ignored her and asked, "So, how do ya wanna proceed, Midoriya?"

Izuku briefly looked over his shoulder, then back at Mei. "I'm gonna ask about Mustard."

"M-Mustard...?" Toru asked timidly.

"He's my lead. And if I can confirm his existence, then I'll try to track him down, see what he looks like."

"And if you find this Mustard guy," Paula said, "_then_ what? Whaddaya suggest we do next, Midoriya?"

"I...I don't know."

Izuku looked over his shoulder to examine the same trio of boys from before, who were right behind them. Sensing what they were trying to do, he slowed down a little and positioned himself behind Mei, blocking her rear from view. He could faintly hear one of the boys cursing in anger.

"This guy was smart enough to frame Mineta for the theft," Izuku continued. "It will be a little difficult, finding an area of vulnerability that we can exploit."

"Well, it's a start!" Mei replied. "Come on! Let's go find this Mustard-"

"A-Actually, th-this is something Shoda, Fukidashi, and I must do alone."

Mei blinked. "Huh?"

"We're doing this without the girls?" asked Manzo.

"How come, Midoriya?" Nirengeki asked.

"I have a plan to find him, guys, but...the strategy I came up with cannot involve the girls. Otherwise-"

"What, you trying to leave us out on what you and the boys are doing?" Paula interrupted. "Even though we're all just as capable as you guys?" She crossed her arms. "That sounds...a little sexist, don'tcha think?"

"Wh-Where'd _that_ come from?! L-Look, I'm just doing this because Mustard will get suspicious if you three do what I had planned for me, Shoda, and Fukidashi. It's...It's a little complicated. Pl-Plus..." Izuku examined the trio of boys again. "A lot of guys in our P.E. class are very perverted..."

Mei's eyes started to shimmer. "Awwwww... You're just trying to protect us from the wolves' hungry stares! That is very nice of you, Midoriya...but we're still gonna help you out in your plan!"

Izuku sighed, looked around again for a moment, and replied, "So...you want to ask this Mustard guy if you want to buy some girls' underwear from him?"

Nirengeki, Manzo, Paula, and Toru immediately blushed with embarrassment. Even though Mei's smile was still in place, Izuku could see her eyelid twitching.

"Okay, then!" the otaku cried in a chipper voice. "You do your thing, Midoriya! Just don't be a pervert about it!"

Izuku blushed as well. "Look, I'll call you when I need you. But for now, I need you to keep a low profile. Maybe you can eavesdrop on something important." He looked at Paula and Toru. "The same goes for you two."

"O-Okay, M-Midoriya..." Toru replied. "Wh-Whatever you say..."

"Okay. Thank you for understanding." Izuku faced Nirengeki and Manzo. "You follow my lead, guys. Try and act natural."

"Oh, yeah," Nirengeki replied sarcastically. "Like talking about girls' underwear is something us nerds would do."

"Only in _their_ case. Now come on."

Izuku slowed down his pace, followed by Nirengeki and Manzo.

"So, Midoriya," Manzo said, "how do ya wanna begin with this?"

Izuku was about to say something when the trio of perverted boys caught up to them. Izuku could now clearly hear what they had to say, and he couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"_Yes_!" one of them cried. "_Now_ we can sneak some good looks!"

"Ohhh, look at the cheeks of the one with the pink hair!" the second said, drool accumulating at the corner of his lip.

"You know," said the third, "I saw the knockers on her. They're ginormous!"

"_Really_?" the first boy asked. "Man, I wish we were at the front..."

Izuku gritted his teeth and he could feel the white-hot fury bubbling inside him. Before long, he felt something inside him snap like a twig. The next thing he knew, he was holding on to the second boy's shoulder with a vice-like grip. Both trios had stopped running almost immediately.

"H-Hey, what the hell?!" the boy snapped.

"Don't you _dare_ talk like that about Hatsume!" Izuku growled. His face was wearing a horribly vicious expression, and his green pupils were quivering. "_Ever_!"

"U-Uhhh, Midoriya...?" Nirengeki asked, absolutely befuddled by Izuku's behavior. "Wh-What're you doing...?"

But Izuku ignored him. "Repeat after me, you pervert!" he shouted into the boy's face. "I won't ever talk about a girl like that ever again!"

"Wh-What are you, nuts?!" the boy cried fearfully.

In response, Izuku grabbed the boy's collar. "SAY IT!"

"Yo, man!" one of the other boys exclaimed. "What the hell's your problem?!"

"Midoriya!" Manzo cried. "Let him go!"

But Izuku was blinded with rage. He held the boy so close that their noses were almost touching, and he could even see the terror filling the boy's eyes. But he ignored it. As far as Izuku was concerned, he was holding the muscular man from the alleyway in his grasp, making him regret all the things he had ever done.

**"SAY IT!"**

"Yo, I'm-I'm sorry, man-"

Izuku started shaking him. **"_SAY IT_!"**

Nirengeki and Manzo immediately grabbed Izuku's shoulders, while the boy's compatriots held on to their friend. Before Izuku knew it, he was being torn away from the boy and staring into the towering, muscular form of Sekijiro Kan.

"Izuku Midoriya!" he roared. "What the hell has gotten _into_ you?!"

Izuku gritted his teeth and pointed a trembling finger at the three boys. "_Them_!" he growled savagely. "They were saying such...such _horrible_ stuff...a-about girls..."

Kan glared at the three boys, who cowered at the sight of his stern face. Then, he looked down at Izuku.

"I'll deal with them, Midoriya," he said. "But you can't just be up in their personal space and threatening to assault them. It's not in your place to do so."

Izuku gritted his teeth and closed his fists, but otherwise, he didn't do anything to protest. Taking his silence as a sign of approval, Kan nodded curtly, turned away, and marched towards the three boys. This gave Nirengeki and Manzo the time to run up to Izuku's sides.

"Hey, uh, Midoriya?" Nirengeki asked. "Was...Was that supposed to be our cue to 'follow your lead'?"

"If that was," added Manzo, "then there's _no way_ I'm gonna threaten them into selling us some panties-"

"No, guys..." Izuku interrupted, his fists relaxing. "That wasn't part of the plan." He looked downcast now. "I'm sorry..."

Manzo was taken aback. "Man, you _really_ exploded in those guys' faces. You must not like people badmouthing girls. And to think _you_ were the one who came up with the idea of pretending we were interested in buying some girls' underwear."

"Then it was a bad idea from the start..." Izuku replied quietly.

"Jeez, Midoriya," Nirengeki said. "_Now_ what do you want us to do? Those guys saw us with you, so they know we're all in cahoots. They're gonna think twice before they consider our so-called offers."

"I...I don't know..." Izuku sat down on one of the bleachers and buried his face in his palms. "I'm...I'm sorry, guys. I...I screwed up..."

Then, the green-haired boy started to weep, startling Nirengeki and Manzo. The two club members looked at one another in hesitation, unsure of how to proceed. Then, Nirengeki looked at Izuku.

"H-Hey, Midoriya, th-there's no reason for you to be ashamed! In fact, y-you should feel better about yourself!"

"Should I...?" asked Izuku, his voice muffled by his palms.

"Well, y-yeah!" Manzo replied. "I-I mean, if saying lewd things about girls is enough to piss you off, then that means you don't have a bad bone in your body!"

"Y-Yeah, man!" added Nirengeki. "I mean, lots of other people here are perverts, boys and girls alike. There are different levels of being perverted, of course, but people like you, without any perversion in their bones, are a dying breed!"

"Damn right! I mean..." Manzo started to blush. "I myself would spend my nights going to porn sites and-"

"I think I get your point, Fukidashi," Izuku interrupted quickly.

"My point is you should actually be proud of yourself. I mean, you saved a bunch of our classmates from some hooligans who gave you a beating, you believe Mineta, the biggest pervert in the school, is innocent of a crime he would definitely have committed, you go out of your way to prove his innocence, and now you absolutely hate it whenever somebody has lewd remarks about another person's body! You're such a caring person, it's almost unreal!"

"Well..." Izuku started thinking about the alleyway again. "If you were me...you'd understand..."

Nirengeki and Manzo looked at each other, momentarily confused by Izuku's ambiguity. Then, Nirengeki nodded at Manzo knowingly, and Manzo nodded back. Then, the latter gave Izuku a grin.

"Hey, tell you what?" he suggested. "We understand the plan now so we'll just continue where you left off. How does that sound?"

"Huh?" Izuku blinked slowly. "I-I thought you said those guys saw you with me?"

"That was back when we had doubts about the whole shindig," replied Nirengeki. "But I think we can go the extra mile. I mean, you're a nice guy, Midoriya, and Hatsume trusts you a lot. We'll see where this goes, Midoriya, and you don't have to worry about a thing. Trust us."

Izuku stared up at Nirengeki and Manzo. For once, they seemed taller than him now that he was sitting on the bleachers. They almost resembled characters from _Our Hero Academia_. It was a perplexing yet amazing sight...

Just then, Izuku saw a familiar shade of crimson glinting at the corner of his eye. He looked over Manzo's shoulder...and his eyes widened.

"Uhhhhh... Maybe you don't have to worry about asking those guys about Mustard..."

"What?" Nirengeki asked. "What're you talking about, Midoriya?"

Nirengeki and Manzo looked over their shoulders...and their jaws dropped with shock. Mei, Paula, and Toru were running behind the three lascivious boys now, giving them an opportunity to ogle their bodies. However, it wasn't the ogling that concerned Izuku, Nirengeki, and Manzo, but the energetic, animated discussion the girls seemed to be having. Once the two trios passed them, they could hear the girls' conversation clearly.

"I was suspicious of my boyfriend, you see," explained Mei. "So when he's taking a whiz in the bathroom, I take a quick look at the laptop he left on."

"Ooh, clever girl!" Paula replied with giddy interest. "What'd you find?!"

"Yeah, Hatsume!" added Toru, every single trace of her meekness strangely gone. "Tell us all the goodies!"

By that point, the two trios were getting farther away from Izuku, Nirengeki, and Manzo. As a result, they ran after them so they can continue listening in on the girls' conversation.

"I didn't know Hatsume had a boyfriend..." Izuku remarked.

"That's 'cause she _doesn't_," replied Manzo.

"Yeah," Nirengeki commented. "I mean, who can handle _her_?"

At that moment, Izuku's eyes met with Mei's, and she gave him a quick but crafty wink before answering Toru's question.

"I went through his search history," she said, "and it was all related to, guess what? Bloomers!"

"_Bloomers_?!" Paula exclaimed in disbelief. "No WAY, girl!"

Izuku caught a glimmer of interest flashing across the faces of the three boys in front of them.

"Ohhhhh, yes way!" Mei said. "Pictures of girls in bloomers, pictures of women in bloomers, videos of high-school girls at P.E. in their bloomers! 3D girls in bloomers, 2D girls in bloomers! It's crazy, I tell you! Bloomers, bloomers everywhere!"

"So," Toru replied, "what're you gonna do with that information, Hatsume?"

"Well..." Mei placed a finger on her lips, pretending to think hard. "We haven't fucked in a while so I think I'm gonna give my boyfriend an early birthday present...in the form of me..."

She gestured to herself seductively, prompting the boys in front of her to blush, along with Izuku, Nirengeki, and Manzo. But Paula and Toru gazed at her with admiration, as if Mei was some sort of inspirational figure or a goddess to them.

"Ah, you go, girl!" cried Paula, raising her fist with encouragement. "Show that Midoriya you have his heart, not a bunch of girls in pictures!"

Nirengeki and Manzo looked at Izuku with shock. As for Izuku himself, the poor boy was blubbering incomprehensibly.

"So," Toru said, "where are you gonna surprise Midoriya?"

"Usually," replied Mei, "I'd surprise him at home, but I think I'll be extra-generous this time and give him his present at the girls' locker room between classes. I mean, I'm wearing bloomers right now! I'm technically gift-wrapped and ready to go!"

"Ahhhhh, the girls' locker room between classes!" Paula said dreamily. "Kinky!"

"What the hell is happening...?" Manzo asked, the blush on his face deepening.

"I dunno..." replied Nirengeki. "But it sounds like you're gonna be a lucky bastard today, Midoriya..."

Izuku merely hiccuped. His face was definitely the reddest out of the eavesdropping trio. However, none of them argued as they continued to listen in.

"So what?" asked Paula. "You're gonna make your move after P.E.'s over, Hatsume?"

"Yeah, pretty much!" Mei replied. Then, her yellow eyes lit up with awe. "Ohhhhh, I've got _another_ idea!"

"What is it?"

"When class is dismissed, do you think you can hand me your bloomers as well, you two? That way, I can use 'em to rile my man even further!"

"W-With _our_ bloomers?" Toru asked, perplexed. "Ohhh, I dunno, Hatsume..."

"Come on, Hagakure! It'll be fine! I won't make him lick 'em or anything! In fact, this will be the closest you'll ever get to having a man's breath on you!"

"Wow, that sounds like a really good idea!" Paula exclaimed, shocking Izuku, Nirengeki, and Manzo. "I'm in, Hatsume, as long as you return them!"

"I-I guess I'll pi-pitch in too..." Toru added, the nervousness back in her voice. Even though Izuku couldn't see her face, he could tell her face was as red as his, like a tomato.

"Excellent!" squealed Mei giddily. "I knew I could count on you two!"

"Have fun in there, Hatsume!" Paula winked cleverly. "If you know what I _meeeeeannnnn_..."

"Of course! But before I get to that business..." The female otaku started fanning herself with her hand. "I am gonna hit one of the locker showers first! There's no way in hell I am gonna rut with my boyfriend with the smell that's coming off me right now!"

"You got that right. _He's_ the one who's supposed to be smelly through the whole transaction, not you!"

"I'm not sure where Tsunotori's getting that idea," Nirengeki replied quietly, "but okay..."

"Hopefully no one nabs the bloomers while I am in the shower!" Mei called in a singsong voice that was obviously meant to reach the perverted trio's ears.

Upon hearing Mei's latest declaration, Izuku's eyes widened with understanding.

_"I see what she's doing!"_ he thought. _"She's gonna try and lure this Mustard guy out in the open!"_

Then, Izuku focused on the three boys, who were now whispering excitedly to one another. Mei, Paula, and Toru took this opportunity to slow down and allow their male friends to catch up to them.

"Hatsume!" Nirengeki exclaimed, the stout boy absolutely befuddled. "I...I can't believe you'd come up with a strategy as crazy and stupid as this!"

But Mei smiled arrogantly. "I know, it's ingenious, huh Shoda?!" She looked at Izuku and batted her eyelashes. "What do you think, Midoriya?! Do you think my strategy is brilliant or what?!"

"It is!" Izuku blurted out, stunning Nirengeki and Manzo. "Those guys fell for that trap, hook, line, and sinker! If they _are_ in touch with this Mustard character, then they'll be sure to ask him to try and steal the bloomers!"

"But what if _they_ try to steal the bloomers _themselves_?" Manzo asked.

"Then we'll catch _them_ in the act, and we'll make them tell us who Mustard is!"

"That!" Nirengeki shouted defiantly. "Is a flippin' _fantastic_ idea!" He looked at Mei with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. "I'll be damned, Hatsume! You _actually_ came up with a great strategy!"

Mei shrugged, her arrogant smile still etched on her face. "Well," she said, "you guys _were_ dawdling in carrying out your brilliant boys-exclusive strategy, so we girls had to carry out our own!"

"Yeah!" Paula exclaimed. "And what better way to lure a guy into a trap than add in a little sexy spice, if you know what I mean!"

At that moment, the group of six stopped in their tracks, allowing Izuku stared flatly at her. "So you're assuming all guys will fall for anything a girl tells them as long as...the promise of _sex_ is involved?" He crossed her arms. "That sounds...a little sexist, don'tcha think?"

Paula frowned at him as a triumphant smirk crept onto his face. However, Mei had a little smirk of her own.

"Oh, like you're any different, Midoriya?" the pink-haired girl asked teasingly. "Ohhh, I can only imagine the look on your face when Tsunotori outed you as my boyfriend!"

Izuku's face turned red again. "Th-Th-That's because y-y-you said w-w-we'd be having a s-se-se-se-se-"

"Sexual rendezvous?" Mei's eye twinkled. "Well, unfortunately for you...said sexual rendezvous is supposed to be bogus, in case you didn't notice!"

"Yeah," added Paula. "I just threw in your name because nothing else was popping up." She wagged her finger at Izuku. "Sorry, Midoriya, but looks like you ain't gettin' laid today!"

"I-I don't even care about that kinda stuff!" Izuku squeaked with embarrassment.

"Oh, really?" asked Mei. She leaned forward, and Izuku couldn't help but notice how her well-endowed chest jiggled and dangled slightly as she moved. "Not even a _little_...?"

"N-N-Not even a l-l-little!"

Mei frowned with disappointment. "Aw, phooey. And to think, I _was_ sorta anticipating this bogus rendezvous to be a real thing-"

"Wh-Wh-What?! S-S-Since when d-d-did you f-fe-_feel_ that way?!"

"Since never!"

Mei laughed a little and stuck out her tongue playfully. Izuku blinked rapidly with confusion for a few seconds, before he hung his head low with a mixture of embarrassment and relief. However, Mei seemed to misinterpret this reaction.

"Ohhh, no hard feelings, Midoriya!" she cried. "I mean, you're cute and all, but you're not exactly my type!"

"I didn't even know you _had_ a type, Hatsume..." deadpanned Manzo.

"Of course I have a type! Just like you do, Fukidashi!"

Manzo became red-faced as well. "Y-You don't know that!"

"Of course I do!" The club leader stared at her fellow otaku teasingly. "I mean, I _see_ the way you look at Pau-"

"So, Midoriya!" Manzo cried, his voice cracking in the process. "What's the plan now?!"

Upon hearing this question, Izuku raised his head to look at his compatriots. The embarrassment was gone from his face and replaced with a newfound determination.

* * *

_**"We set up positions around the girls' locker room."**_

Izuku peered from behind a thick bush, watching the half-open doorway of the girls' locker room. He then looked at two other bushes scattered around the track field, which was now empty. From behind those bushes, he could see Nirengeki's and Manzo's heads poking out from their shelters, watching the door just as closely.

_**"Shoda and Fukidashi, you guys and I will keep watch on the door from the outside. We'll wait for someone to come."**_

Their eyes all met, and Nirengeki gave Izuku a thumbs-up. Izuku nodded back and refocused on the open door. He could hear the faint sound of water gushing from a shower-head.

_**"And what about us, Midoriya?"**_

_**"You girls hide in the locker room. Hatsume, make sure the shower is running. You need your story to be as legit as possible."**_

After about a minute of observing, Izuku heard footsteps and people talking. He looked towards the main school building and saw the same three perverts from before, strolling towards the locker rooms. Izuku pursed his lips with some slight disappointment, but he continued to keep his green pupils trained on the trio.

In no time, the trio approached the doorway and stared hungrily at it.

_**"And what happens when someone comes along?"**_

_**"We set up a way to alert you girls when they do."**_

One of the boys pushed the half-open door further open, only for everyone to hear a clanking noise. The other two boys jumped back and shrieked in fear, but the first boy stared at them flatly.

"Relax, you guys!" he said calmly. "It's just someone's thermos."

The boy's accomplices sighed with relief, and then the whole trio stealthily tiptoed inside the girls' locker room.

_**"Okay, Midoriya. What'll we do if the person who comes along is the thief?"**_

_**"Well...did you guys bring any disguises?"**_

Sensing his cue, Izuku put on his mask, leaped out of the bush, and started running towards the locker room, fully clad in his Yamikumo costume. Nirengeki and Manzo leaped out of their own hiding spots as well and joined the green-haired boy. Nirengeki was wearing a thick football helmet, while Manzo had paper taped to his face, with eye-holes crudely torn into it.

The boys reached the doorway, just as they heard three different sets of masculine cries and grunts, and three other sets of feminine growls and yells.

"What the hell is this?!" one of the boys cried.

"Go down, you damn pervert!" Toru shrieked shrilly.

Izuku, Nirengeki, and Manzo entered the room and saw Mei, Paula, and Toru wrestling with the boys. Mei was wearing a pair of steampunk-style goggles and a kerchief over her mouth, Paula was wearing the mask of some anthropomorphic pony character, and Toru simply had her P.E. shirt wrapped around her entire head except for her eyes.

Acting on instinct, Izuku charged forward and tackled the boy wrestling with Mei, knocking him to the floor. Nirengeki did the same with the boy grappling with Toru, while Manzo attempted to do so with the boy trying to pin Paula against one of the locker rows. However, his mask sagged during his charge, partially blinding him.

"Ah! AH!" Manzo cried. "I can't see! I can't _see_!"

Paula frowned with disapproval. "Are you _serious_, Fukidashi?" she asked. Then, she shrugged. "Well, I guess it's all up to me now."

She suddenly used an arm to pick up the boy's legs, flipping him to his side in midair, before slamming him down to the floor and knocking the wind out of him. Izuku, Mei, Nirengeki, and Toru all stared with bewilderment, while Paula sighed with relief and dusted her thighs. Then, she looked at the quartet with her pony mask still on; the sight of it would have looked hilarious to anyone else.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Huh?!" Manzo exclaimed as he readjusted his makeshift mask. "What?! What happened?! Is Paula okay?!" Then, he saw the boy's writhing form on the floor. "Oh..."

"Y-Yo, wh-what the hell's the big idea?!" snapped the boy Izuku tackled. He was lying face-down on the floor, preventing him from seeing who had him restrained. "Are we bein' punked or something?!"

"No," Izuku replied, looking down at his captive with narrowed eyes. "You mentioned a guy named Mustard, said he had girls' underwear in stock?"

"M-_Mustard_?" A brief glimmer of worry flashed through the boy's eyes. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Yeah, me neither!" exclaimed the boy Nirengeki had pinned.

"Don't you lie to me!" Izuku growled. "I overheard you guys talking about him during P.E.!"

"You...You _overheard_ us?" the first boy asked worriedly. Then, he tried to adjust his head, but to no avail. "_Heeey_...aren't you-?"

"The less you know, the better. Did Mustard tell you he stole all that underwear?"

"N-No, honest to God!"

"Says the guy who said Mustard had a stock of girls' underwear earlier," Nirengeki snarled. "You seem to know how much this guy has. Don't tell me you didn't think about where all of that came from-"

"I-I just wanted to sniff some panties, that's all-"

"Ew, gross," Toru interrupted.

"Oh, God!" exclaimed the third boy. "Are you gonna turn us in?!"

"Pl-Please don't!" the second boy cried. "Oh, God! My parents are gonna kill me if they find out!"

"We'll consider letting you guys go," replied Izuku. "But only on three conditions."

"Okay, okay!" the first boy shouted. "J-Just name your price!"

"I don't want you to pay us anything. First off, I want you to promise me that you three will _never_ tell _anyone_ about this. I prefer this whole conversation is between the nine of us. You got it?"

"Y-Yes, w-we've got it!"

"Second off, I want you to promise me that you'll never, _ever_ think or speak low of a girl ever again!" Izuku tightened his grip on the boy. "They are more than just walking pieces of flesh that you can fantasize about. Do you understand me?!"

The boy looked perplexed by this, and he seemed to mull over his decision. Eventually, he replied, "Y-Yeah, I understand! Loud and clear!"

"Do you promise me you'll fulfill that part of the bargain?!"

"Yeah, deal, deal! W-What's the third condition?!"

"Before I tell you what it is, I want you to know that we _will_ know if you alert Mustard or tell the teachers about us. Know that if you do either, we'll turn you guys in to the authorities. We're recording this whole thing on tape as we speak."

"Wh-_What_?!"

"Now you tell us who this Mustard guy is."

"W-We dunno know his real name!" the first boy shouted. "A-All he know is that he's a second-year student who had just started this lil' business of his!"

"Okay, then. Do you know where he operates this so-called business?"

The three boys looked between one another with apprehension. Then, one of them opened his mouth...

* * *

The three boys left the girls' locker room, their faces scarlet with embarrassment and their arrogant bravado finally gone. A couple of minutes later, once the boys returned to the school building, Izuku, Mei, Nirengeki, Toru, Manzo, and Paula all stepped out of the locker room as well, still wearing their disguises.

"Holy crap," Manzo said as he ripped off the sheet of paper from his face. "I...I can't believe that worked out well for the six of us..."

"You can say that again, Fukidashi," replied Nirengeki, as he removed his football helmet. "I...I honestly can't believe I'm saying this, but...I guess Mineta really _didn't_ steal those underwear..."

"I thought you already agreed he didn't, Shoda?" Paula asked upon removing her pony mask.

"Mostly because Hatsume would've just dragged me along regardless!"

"But as you can see," Mei said triumphantly while removing her goggles, "Midoriya and I _were_ right! Mineta's innocent of all charges, and the true Villain is still lurking within the walls of this school! But not for any longer! We're gonna find him and expose him and turn him in like the evil criminal he is!"

"But how d'you suggest we do that, Hatsume?" Toru asked, fidgeting the fabric wrapped around her face. "We don't even have a plan for that in place."

"Ask Midoriya! He's the leader! He'll know the answer!"

Everyone looked at Izuku, who was in the process of removing his entire cosplay. He noticed their stares and stopped in mid-movement.

"Wh-Why're you looking at _me_?" he asked.

"Because _you're_ the one who kick-started this whole thing!" Manzo replied. "You believed Mineta was innocent. You found out who really committed the theft. You found a way into his business. But it's going to be tough, getting concrete proof that he's the thief. We don't even know where he's keeping the stolen items."

"But if anybody could know how to do it," Paula added, "it's you, Midoriya, hands down. You've got the determination!"

"Not to mention the costume!" squealed Mei.

Izuku stared at his five schoolmates, totally astounded that they were giving him such lavish praise. However, he signed sadly and continued removing his costume.

"Sorry, you guys," he said. "You heard them. Mustard knows how to cover his tracks. You gotta drop off a letter in certain areas of the school and hope that he finds them instead of Old Man Sorahiko. And in that letter, you have to write a code that changes every week so then Mustard knows what you really want. Only, those guys don't know the new code. When it comes to luring in Mustard, we're at a corner here."

"Well, we gotta do _something_," Nirengeki said. "At the very least, Mustard has to be a pretty shady guy for hiding behind all of these countermeasures. If he doesn't want people to snoop around, then he's gotta be hiding something."

"But until we learn the new code Mustard's passing out, we've got nothing. And who knows if Mustard will follow through with it? The police are still searching for the rest of the stolen items. A careful guy like that is gonna lay low until he feels the heat is truly off the school. We need more information on him." Izuku put a finger to his chin. "...Maybe I should ask Mineta again. He probably knows Mustard if he got the idea to put the blame on him-"

"That won't be necessary, Midoriya," a new voice interrupted.

Izuku and the others looked towards the locker building and saw someone leaning against it, eavesdropping intently. The green-haired boy's eyes expanded with surprise.

"_Kirishima_?" he asked.

Eijiro exhaled before approaching the group. "I know who Mustard is," he said.

"You _do_?" asked Manzo.

"Who is he?" Paula queried.

"I don't know his real name," explained Eijiro, "but he's quickly developed a reputation for selling guys a whole bunch of stuff they can jack off to. Mostly porn and hentai." He looked around warily before continuing. "But rumor has it that he's moved up to more..._questionable_ stuff..."

"Like?" Nirengeki asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Pantie shots. Videos that follow unaware girls and women around while focusing on...certain body parts..." Eijiro's eyes narrowed. "And underwear..."

Izuku blinked with horror. Then, he gritted his teeth.

"You knew this," he snarled, "and you didn't bother to do a _thing_ about it?!"

"Like I said, Midoriya," replied Eijiro, "those were just rumors that were floating around. I never bothered to check out if they were true. I..." He scratched the back of his head. "I only sought his porn and hentai services..."

"Kirishima," Nirengeki said, "you said you know who Mustard is, but you're telling us the same stuff those other guys told us before. How is any of this supposed to be helpful?"

"Those guys clearly started seeking Mustard's services very recently. I am, shall you say, a longtime customer, so I know what Mustard looks like."

"You do?!" the others, sans Izuku, cried at the same time.

"Yeah, and I can also tell you this: a couple of weeks before the girls' locker room was raided, Mustard started using the whole letter-and-code system those guys mentioned. I thought it was a little strange, but I didn't ask any questions until I overheard you guys on the track field during P.E."

"You were listening in on our conversations...?" Izuku asked.

Eijiro nodded. "That, plus all of the rumors I was already hearing about Mustard recently giving out actual underwear, got me thinking. So...I followed you guys here and...well, you know the rest."

"A-Are you g-go-gonna t-tu-turn us i-i-in...?" stuttered Toru.

Eijiro's eyes widened. "Oh, hell no! In case it didn't cross your minds, I'm here to help! And as someone who is aware of how Mustard runs his operation, I think I could be _very_ useful to you, not to mention help clear Mineta's name!"

"And what makes you think we can trust you?" Izuku asked, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

The redhead glared at him. "Midoriya, I said I wanted to help, and I'm giving you Mustard on a silver platter. I don't even have anything to lose by outing Mustard, honestly!"

"Well, I believe you!" Mei cried. She rushed forward and hugged Eijiro's arm tightly, startling him. "Ahhh, come _onnnnnn_, Midoriya! Don't ya want another member in our little group?"

"Kirishima's got a pretty hood point, Midoriya," Manzo said. "He's our way in, probably our _only_ way in, and I don't think he has anything to gain by backstabbing us."

"I agree!" Paula cried.

Izuku looked at the rest of Mei's club, who were looking back at him expectantly and with approval. He then looked back at Eijiro and Mei; the former was staring deeply and valiantly into his eyes, while the latter was feeling his muscles with a surprisingly hungry look in her yellow eyes. At first, he couldn't help but cast doubt over Eijiro's words.

Then, he remembered what the former bully told him yesterday.

**_"T-T-To think the guy who I thought was a-a loser was capable of beating bigger, buffer guys up, it...it's astounding! You've got strength, Midoriya, a lot of it...and it's admirable! It's badass! It's... I-It's manly..."_**

"Okay, Kirishima," Izuku said. "You lead us to Mustard."

A wide, toothy smile appeared on Eijiro's face. Izuku could see his pointed, jagged teeth, which made him look startlingly like a shark.

"Awesome!" he exclaimed. "Look, Midoriya, I w-"

"_But_," interrupted the other boy, "we have to be _very_ careful about this. Mustard's gone to great lengths to keep all of his criminal activities a secret. If he knows we're onto him, he'll get spooked and get rid of whatever evidence he has left. If he does, we won't be able to prove Mineta's innocence. We _have_ to have a cover story in case he gets suspicious."

"Then let's fall back to your old plan, Midoriya," Nirengeki suggested. "We will pretend to buy some girl's underwear from him."

"Yeah..." Izuku looked away. "I don't think I'm gonna do that..."

"Well, you might not, Midoriya," Eijiro said, his eye twinkling, "but _I_ most certainly can."

Izuku looked at him with surprise.

* * *

Izuku stepped into the cafeteria for the third time.

It was still like entering a foreign country. Students filled the tables to the brim, chatting animatedly with each other and fully indulging themselves in today's gossip. There was no table in sight that didn't have at least four students sitting by it. A strange but surprisingly pleasant combination of multiple fragrances hung in the air. The clean floor gleamed freshly and spectacularly from the bright sunlight entering through the windows.

He scanned the tables situated closest to him, one by one. Then, he quickly found the one he wanted to sit at, what with Mei waving excitedly at him.

"Hey, Midoriya!" she called. "Midoriya! Midoriya! We're over here!"

Izuku shook his head upon feeling the many curious eyes train themselves on him. With a lowered head, he approached the table and sat down between Nirengeki and Toru.

"There's really no need to call out to me like that, Hatsume..." the boy said. "We're sitting in one of the closest tables to the door, you know..."

Mei smiled cheekily at him. "Well, I still felt like calling out to you!" Then, she leaned her head in, her yellow eyes shining with intrigue. "So tell me, what's the plan?!"

"...Weren't you listening back at the locker rooms...?"

"Ohhh, I'm just so psyched by this! This is like a mix of _Our Hero Academia_ and a detective manga!" The otaku held in a squeal of enthusiasm. "Ooh, I can't wait till we corner that Villain and show him what for!"

"V-_Villain_...?" Eijiro asked from Mei's left side. Then, he shook his head. "Wh-Whatever. 'Kay, listen, you two." He pointed at Nirengeki and Manzo, who sat upright attentively. "I am introducing you two to Mustard. I'll tell him you're new clients looking to buy some of his, ahem, new inventory. He knows I'm not in on his new business, but I'll try and convince him to make an exception for us. Hopefully he'll take the bait and let us in."

"What happens if he's convinced?" asked Manzo.

"Knowing him, he'll set up a meeting between classes or after school. Hopefully it won't be after school. I've got baseball practice after school is out." Ignoring a dissatisfied sideways glance from Izuku, Eijiro continued, "When we meet up, we ambush him. He should have some underwear with him, so we'll have concrete proof that he broke into the locker room, stole the items, and pinned the blame on Mineta."

"Sounds like a solid plan," Nirengeki replied. "But...what happens if he's _not_ convinced by your story, Kirishima?"

"Then...I guess we're screwed, 'cause I've got no other way in."

"Have no fear!" Mei exclaimed. "We Heroes will triumph in the end, 'cause that's what we do best! Am I right, guys?!"

A half-enthusiastic cheer feebly leaked out from the group. At that moment, Eijiro stood up.

"Okay, you guys," he said. "I'll take you to him right away. Hopefully he's at the same table-"

"Wait, wait!" Mei cried as she grabbed the redhead's arm. "Hold the phone there!"

Eijiro looked down at her, clearly bothered. "What? You got a question?"

"Not at all!" Mei's eyes were still gleaming, and her lips were curled into a half-crafty, half-insane grin. "We need to give you a Hero name first!"

"A...A _Hero name_...?"

"Yep! As of now, you're a member of our club, so we might as well give you a Hero name!"

Eijiro looked at Nirengeki, confused, and the stout boy clarified, "It's a code-name."

"O-_Okaaaaay_..." The redhead looked back down at Mei. "What do you have in mind?"

"Hmmmmm..." Mei scanned Eijiro from head to toe. "You look like a wild guy, and you've got some wicked red hair..."

"Th-Thanks..."

"Hmmm..." Then, the female otaku's eyes lit up. "I know! I'll call you Red Riot!"

Eijiro blinked with shock. "Red..._Riot_...?"

Izuku looked from Mei to Eijiro and back, fear filling his green pupils. _"Oh, God..."_ he thought. _"Hatsume's really making a scene in front of Kirishima... I don't know how he's even gonna react to such a silly name like that-"_

"I like it," Eijiro said, his voice almost breathless with wonder.

"What?!" exclaimed Izuku.

"Yeah, I like it too!" Paula replied enthusiastically.

"S-Sa-Same here..." Toru added meekly.

But Nirengeki looked dubious. "Red Riot?" he asked. "I feel like I've heard that name from somewhere before-"

"Who cares?!" exclaimed Eijiro. "It's a manly code-name for someone like me!" He flexed his arms, showing off his young and developing muscles. "Tell me, you two, what're _your_ code-names?!"

"I'm Mines."

"Comicman for me," Manzo added.

"Mines and Comicman, huh? Awesome! Those are truly manly names as well!"

Nirengeki's eyes suddenly shone. "You...You think so...?"

"Hell yeah!" Eijiro grabbed the smaller, weaker boys and pulled them close to his sides. "Red Riot, Mines, and Comicman, facing the threat like true men and protecting the well-being of this school! Together! HA HA HA!"

Izuku batted his eyelids rapidly. _"Holy whoa..."_ he thought. _"Kirishima's actually _into_ this, even if he doesn't know a thing about manga like _Our Hero Academia_... It's almost unreal..."_

"Alright, then!" Eijiro released Nirengeki and Manzo and started marching away from the table. "Let's move! We can't let Mustard out of our sights, now can we?!"

Nirengeki and Manzo looked at each other, seemingly awestruck by Eijiro's overly enthusiastic behavior about this whole sequence of events. Then, they started following the redhead away from the Manga & Anime Club's table, leaving Izuku with Mei, Paula, and Toru. Once the three other boys were gone, Izuku released a deep sigh.

"You think they'll be able to do it, Hatsume?" Paula asked.

"I don't _think_ they can do it!" Mei replied, though she was wearing a toothy grin. "I _know_ they can do it! And with a guy like Kirishima on our side, the Hero Club's gonna be stronger than ever!"

Izuku looked at her curiously. "The _Hero_ Club?" he asked.

"It's what we're gonna call ourselves from now on! In secret, of course! I mean, if we're gonna be a club of superheroes, calling our club the Hero Club out in the open is gonna defeat the whole purpose of having a secret identity!" She leaned her face towards Izuku's, startling him immensely. "Tell me, Midoriya, whaddaya think?! The Hero Club, a place all people can go to when they need help! The Hero Club, a place where regular, mild-mannered guys and gals can turn into people who can make a difference! The Hero Club, a place that-"

"I appreciate the thought, Hatsume," interrupted Izuku, "but you need to stop this right now."

Mei blinked, and question marks were literally popping up over her head. "Huh?"

"There _is_ no Hero Club. We're _not_ Heroes. After this, we're _done_."

"_Whaaaaat_?! But Midoriya, you gotta admit, this is fun! Just think about it! We can be like the characters from _Our Hero Academia_, putting on flashy costumes and fighting crime!" Her yellow eyes twinkled dreamily. "I can just imagine it now! The students of this school banding together to fight great threats that endanger our town!"

"Can you also imagine us getting beat up and killed in the process, Hatsume? Huh? Can you?!"

Mei wagged a finger at him. "Uh-uh! Not if we help each other out!"

"Will you just _think_ about it for a second?!"

The otaku smirked. "Oh, _you're_ telling me to _think_. You, the guy wearing the Yamikumo costume while saving a couple of girls from some crooks."

"That's only because I didn't want those guys to figure out who I was!"

"And after all that, you still went the extra mile to wear the same costume while breaking into the guys' locker room."

Paula and Toru looked at Izuku with surprise.

"You broke into the boys' locker room?" Paula whispered.

"Only to look for evidence!" Izuku replied defensively. "And Old Man Sorahiko happened to be nearby! I-I didn't want him to recognize me in case he caught me!"

"But _I_ was chat- I mean, distracting him," Mei said. "And even after that, you _still_ wore the Yamikumo costume while we were visiting Mineta."

"You guys visited Mineta?" Toru asked.

"Yep!"

"Only to get information," Izuku growled exasperatedly. "I didn't want to be recognized like last time, but it turns out my costume was useless."

"You say that, yet you didn't hesitate even _one second_ to put on that costume while we were jumping those three pervs!" The girl chuckled dramatically. "And _now_ you are telling me I'm, what, crazy to think we should start up a club dedicated to heroics? Admit it, Midoriya, you want this to happen as much as I do!"

"I _don't_."

"You _dooooo_."

"I don't, Hatsume!"

Mei covered her mouth playfully. "Ho ho ho, you _sooooo_ do!"

"I agree," Paula added.

"S-Sa-Same here..." stuttered Toru.

Izuku gritted his teeth. "Hatsume," he snarled, "I swear to God, I'm gonna...gonna..."

"Gonna what?" replied Mei. "Tell me, Superhero-san, what're you gonna do to me? It can't be anything hurtful, perhaps?" She leaned her face towards Izuku's again. "You've always wanted to do something like this, Midoriya! I can _feel_ it in my Hero bones! And since you're clearly in denial about this-"

"I AM **NOT** IN DENIAL, HATSUME!" Izuku hollered, startling the students sitting in the tables closest to his. Realizing this, he hung his head with embarrassment. "We have to stop, Hatsume..."

"Why stop now when it's getting _really_ fun?!"

"Hatsume..." The boy raised his head, and the girls, even Mei, were surprised to see his green eyes glimmering. "This... This is _not_ supposed to be fun! What you're suggesting we do...is gonna get us all hurt!"

"Didn't stop you from dueling those guys in the street like it was a boxing video game!"

"'Cause he was gonna hurt Uraraka and Kodai and h-he's already hurt others before and-and I couldn't stop him b-before a-and I-I c-cou-couldn't l-let him d-do it again! A-And now y-you're all c-ca-caught up in this a-and you're g-gonna g-get y-yourselves hurt and I...I...I..."

Izuku started hyperventilating, and his eyes were becoming bloodshot. Paula and Toru stared at him with concern.

"Whoa, whoa, Midoriya!" Paula cried, while Toru kept some distance between her and Izuku. "Just calm down! Breathe... Breathe..."

The exchange student's slow, soothing words helped Izuku slow his breath. Once it was back to a normal, steady pace, a tense silence fell upon the table, and Izuku hung his head again. Paula and Toru stared at him awkwardly, while Mei was wearing an ambiguous expression.

Finally, Toru spoke. "Mid-Midoriya...?" He didn't respond, so she continued. "Is...Is that _why_ you're doing all of this in the first place? 'C-Cause...y-you saw those s-same guys do s-so-something to someone...and you d-didn't do a t-thing about it...?"

Then, the girls heard Izuku sniffling. He raised his head, and they realized he had been weeping.

"Even worse..." he said. "I was...treated with a dose...of reality..."

Before either Paula or Toru could press for further information, a new voice rang out, "We're in, you guys! We're SO in!"

Eijiro, Nirengeki, and Manzo returned to the table, all three of them wearing proud expressions. Mei shot up on her feet, the giddy and semi-insane face back.

"You reeled him in?!" she cried.

"Yep!" Eijiro replied, giving the female otaku a thumbs-up. "We made an order, and he's agreed to drop it off in the boys' bathroom on the second floor when school is out!"

"The second floor!" Mei flashed him a toothy smile. "That's the perfect place to catch him in the act and take him down!"

Eijiro returned her smile with one of his own. "So it's settled, then?! We meet up at the bathroom once the last period is dismissed?!"

"Yeah, you betcha!" She looked down at Izuku, Paula, and Toru. "Alright, my fellow Heroes! We now have a plan in place! At long last, we can prove Mineta's innocence and put this dark chapter of the school behind us! Let's all recite our motto to get us all riled up for this monumental occasion!"

Izuku and Eijiro both stared at her with confusion.

"You guys have a motto?" Eijiro asked.

"Yep! That one's already been settled!"

"It's a lil' something we took from one of our favorite manga when the Manga & Anime Club was first formed," explained Manzo.

"Sounds cool!" replied Eijiro, his eyes glimmering with enthusiasm. "What is it?!"

However, Mei wagged a finger in his face. "Uh, uh, uh!" she said. "You need to join the Hero Club first before you can get that kind of information! Only members are privileged to the inner workings of our organization!"

"W-Wait a minute," Nirengeki said, perplexed. "We're now calling ourselves the _Hero_ Club?"

"It's a long story," Paula piped up.

"Given that the name was most likely Hatsume's idea, I can't say I'm surprised..."

"_Anyway_..." Eijiro said, "is there anything I need to do to join?"

"Well..." Mei replied before spending a moment thinking about it. "At this point, I would've come up with a lil' system of rules, but since I'm so pumped up right now, I think I'll just make an exception for you. Congratulations, Kirishima!" She used her palm to give Eijiro a makeshift knighting. "You're part of the Hero Club now!"

Eijiro was stunned by the improvised ceremony for a quick moment. Then, joy filled his eyes, and he flashed his jagged, shark-like teeth.

"Awesome!"

"Alright, then!" Mei stepped away from the table and faced Izuku and the others with her hands on her waist. "Now that the formalities are out of the way, let's go catch ourselves an underwear thief!"

However, she said the last part so loudly and boisterously that she caught the attention of the tables closest to the Hero Club's. The dozen or so students slowly looked at her awkwardly, unsure if they really did hear what they had just heard. Mei didn't seem to notice, for she was flashing her brightest, bubbliest smile yet at the newly-formed Hero Club.

As for Izuku, he felt some dismay at Mei's eccentric behavior and decisions, but it was being overtaken by a rising feeling of begrudging awe and admiration towards the otaku. Never before in his life had he met someone so blindly passionate about becoming a real-life superhero, someone whose passion overshadowed his like a sun to a white dwarf.

_"I can't believe Hatsume wants to go through with this..."_ he thought. _"I can't believe people are even following her lead! Maybe this is how I would've turned out if I kept up my obsession with manga and remained blissfully unaware of reality and its true expectations..."_

Just then, he remembered Shimura's words from a couple of weeks ago, once again. With a deep, heavy sigh, the green-haired boy stared out of the window again, pondering on what he had just indirectly started.

_"The Hero Club... This is just great. Everyone thinks what I did was awesome, like some anime, and now they wanna do the same thing. They want to follow my example, unaware that their views of heroism is shortsighted and simplified. The truth is...it's not. Being a Hero in real life is only gonna get people hurt. I can attest to that._

_"It's a good thing we're only dealing with an underwear thief. After this, I'm gonna put an end to this right now. If I want to be a Hero, if I truly believe in the good deeds of Yamikumo and the rest of Class 1-A, then I have to remind everyone that this is reality. We have to accept it before something goes terribly wrong..."_

He clenched his trembling fists.

_"We _have_ to..."_

Meanwhile, Eijiro was staring at Mei with bewilderment.

"You still didn't tell me what the motto was..." he moaned.

* * *

**A/N:** Alright! This marks the end of that chapter! Now, I know I said earlier that this chapter would mark the conclusion of this mini-story arc of proving Mineta's innocence, and I was planning on making it so. However, I just kept on writing and writing and writing until the chapter became a little too long for my liking. As you can hopefully see, this chapter is the longest chapter I've written for this fic so far. Because of all that, I was forced to split the original chapter into two. Don't worry, though! The real thief will be caught and Mineta's name will be cleared in the next chapter, I can guarantee it!

Also, on a little side-note, Mustard (one of the Villains that appeared during the Forest Training Camp Arc) has just been identified as the main suspect of the break-in, while Kirishima becomes the first non-otaku to join the newly-established Hero Club! HOORAY! And from the next chapter onward, things will speed up as we delve into the true meat of this story!

Alright, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing the previous chapter:

**-Haro654:** Nope! As you can now tell, it was definitely not one of the teachers.

**-MarvelNinja10:** Thank you so much! I'm so glad I'm doing Hatsume's character justice in this AU, and I think it's for a good reason too, because I love, love, LOVE writing her and I think she's quite the underdog of the franchise. I do hope she gets more screentime in the future because I think she deserves it!

**-Whitetiger789:**

**1)** Indeed he is!

**2)** Is there anything else you would like to say about the previous chapter? Any other likes you might have had? Dislikes, perhaps? Any miscellaneous comments? I'm sorry, but two-sentence reviews are also pet peeves of mine. I feel a review is going to need more detail than that if a fanfiction writer needs feedback on his or her material.

**-SilentReader97:**

**1)** I see. Thanks for the pointer, though!

**2)** Wow, I'm really sorry about the overuse of adverbs! I didn't even notice this! I don't think I even noticed when writing this chapter; it's probably a part of my writing style nowadays. Thanks for providing the link, though; I'll be sure to use it for future chapters!

**-Raizen1125:**

**1)** I'm glad I've got Bakugo nailed down to a T so far. He's quite easy to write given his personality. Plus it allows me to be a little liberal with the cursing. XD

**2)** Don't worry. The IzuMina wholesomeness will commence in a couple of chapters. I'm just trying to get the Hero Club officially established first. Then, we start getting serious. ;)

**-Guest reviewer:** Could you please be specific for your review? Do you have any specific likes for the chapter? Perhaps any dislikes? Any miscellaneous comments? I need specific feedback, please! Otherwise, I won't know how to make this story even better for you!

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	11. One More Step to Confrontation

**A/N:** Hey, everyone! I'm sorry this chapter took a lil' longer to get out than usual. This should've been up last week, but all of a sudden, I did not like the direction the second half was going and I kept revising everything. I even had to delete an entire sequence that I originally had planned and start over from scratch due to dissatisfaction. And then, there's the fact that I was preoccupied with a few other projects that I'm working on simultaneously. It was a bit of a hassle.

Now, before we begin with this brand-new chapter, I just wanted to inform you all that I'll be starting my fall semester at college in a couple of weeks, and that means updates for this fic might become slower. I'm not sure exactly how slow the updates will actually be, but since I'll be going to school as a full-time student, that means I will most likely be getting a very big workload within a few weeks. Yeah, that's what we're going to be dealing with the future. We'll see how it goes, but for now, don't expect any miraculous semimonthly updates from me. BUT! Don't be scared by the possibility of long waiting periods between updates, though, for I have no intention of abandoning this story whatsoever!

Oh, and speaking of stories and projects, I'm pleased to announce my next story. It's a big crossover between "My Hero Academia" and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though other Marvel-related properties are also being thrown in. I'm not going to divulge any further details, but I'm really excited by this project (especially since it's my first crossover fic ever) and I can't wait to post it! It should be out sometime by next month or the month after that, depending on the progress of this fic and my ability to multitask between fanfiction and schoolwork. Get pumped! :D

Alright, I think I've said enough. On with the chapter! ENJOY!

* * *

**_"Is...Is that _why_ you're doing all of this in the first place? 'C-Cause...y-you saw those s-same guys do s-so-something to someone...and you d-didn't do a t-thing about it...?"_**

Izuku exhaled through his nostrils as he was packing up his school supplies. With every object he stuffed into his bag, he caught a glimpse of the Yamikumo costume inside. In a few minutes, he would be wearing it for the second time today to catch a perverted thief in the school and prove the innocence of another pervert.

It sounded like something out of a manga.

Izuku stuffed the last of his school supplies, a binder, into his bag. Then, he took a sideways glance at the rabbit ear-like protrusions sticking out from the mask of his costume.

_"To think it would end up like this..."_ he thought. _"Me, actually living out what I always wanted to do... Be a superhero in real life, like Yamikumo... The old me would've been so happy if he knew this would happen. But now...I feel nothing but emptiness. I'm only committed to this because someone else's life depends on the outcome. I can't let Mineta spend the rest of his life suffering the consequences of something he didn't even do. I'm not gonna leave him like that, even if he is a really disgusting pervert. Heroes don't do that._

_"But after this, I'm done. This is it. This will be the end of my foray into heroics. I'll no longer indulge in my old fantasies. After this, I'm gonna go back to being an ordinary person with an ordinary life. Just like Shimura-san would've wanted..."_

"Hey, Midoriya!" a voice called. Izuku looked over his shoulder and saw Ochako, Tenya, Momo, Shoto, and Yui all waiting for him at the classroom doorway.

"Are you coming?" asked Ochako.

Izuku smiled back at them. "Sorry, guys. I gotta stay behind for a bit." He put on his backpack. "I, uh...I gotta take care of a few things first."

"O-Oh." Ochako looked a little disappointed. "O-Okay." Then, her cheerful smile returned. "Well, we'll see you tomorrow!"

"And remember," Tenya added, waving his hand, "don't forget to study, Midoriya! We have an important test next week!"

"Don't worry, Iida," Izuku replied, smiling fondly at him. "I will."

Tenya nodded approvingly at Izuku before leaving with Momo, Shoto, and Yui. Ochako briefly remained to give Izuku one last wave, then she followed her friends out of the classroom. Then, once they were all gone, the small smile faded away from Izuku's face, which hardened into a mask of resolve.

_"Okay. Let's get this started."_

Izuku quickly left the classroom and was about to turn a corner when he was greeted with a startling sight.

"Wh-Whoa!" he exclaimed. "K-_Kacchan_?"

Katsuki Bakugo scowled nastily at him. "Whaddaya want, otaku?!" he snapped. The ashy-blond limped towards him with his crutches, causing Izuku's heart-rate to quicken. "Oh, lemme guess! You're here to laugh at my misery, aren't ya?!"

"N-N-No! Th-Th-That's not why-"

"Yeah, well, joke's on you, loser! In a few more days, I'm gonna be ditching these sorry fucking things and I'll be back to kicking your ass! In fact, the first beatin' I'll give you will be with one of these!" With gritted teeth, he pointed his chin at his right crutch. "So next time ya decide to try and play your dumb lil' superhero games, don't even _think_ about sticking up for me, huh?!"

All of a sudden, Izuku felt his entire body relax. He watched as Katsuki started hobbling past him, all the while muttering insulting and inflammatory curses. He wanted to let his bully go, but something compelled him to do otherwise.

"Kacchan," he said quietly, prompting the other boy to stop, right after he had just passed him.

"I swear to fucking God," growled Katsuki, "if you use that name _one more time_, I'm gonna strangle you-"

"There's no one around to hear this, Kacchan. And..." Izuku looked over his shoulder, at Katsuki. "You're my best friend." He smiled fondly. "I...I couldn't just leave you like that. No matter what you've done to me. Even if you'll still demean my passion for manga, and call me an otaku and a loser and a defenseless guy, I would _still_ try to save you without asking. I can't make you leave me alone, but I can still care for you."

Katsuki looked over his shoulder as well, and Izuku was almost terrified to see the blazing look of bestial fury in his hazel eyes. In fact, his eyes were so enraptured in rage that they were almost red.

"Save it, otaku!" he roared. "I can handle myself, ya hear me?! I can beat the asses of a thousand men any day and any time, and I wouldn't even break a goddamn sweat! I never needed your help!"

_"But clearly you did, Kacchan,"_ Izuku thought somberly. However, he didn't bother to voice this, and instead, he watched as Katsuki started hobbling away again.

"YA HEAR ME?!" the bully called furiously. "I NEVER NEEDED YOUR HELP, AND I'LL **NEVER** NEED YOUR HELP!"

Izuku sighed, turned around, and continued walking. As he did, he continued to hear Katsuki's stomps echoing loudly in the halls. Once he turned the corner, he suddenly bumped into someone.

"OOF! Ow!" Izuku rubbed his head and looked down at the floor, only to see a fallen notebook. "I'm-I'm sorry! H-Here, l-lemme get that f-for you-"

"I-It's okay," a familiar voice interrupted, though it was strangely gentle. "I got it..."

Eyes widening, Izuku looked up and finally saw the person he bumped into. "A..._Ashido_...?"

The ganguro girl smiled sheepishly at him. "H-Hey there, Midoriya..." she greeted.

"Wh-What're you doing here?"

"I, uh..." She faintly swallowed while bending down to pick up the notebook. "I just had to take care of a lil' something, th-that's all..."

"O-Oh." Then, Izuku thought, _"Funny. Ashido doesn't seem like the kind of person to stay behind after class is dismissed. What's up with that?"_

"Wh-What're _you_ doing here, Midoriya?" Mina asked.

"H-Huh?" Izuku started to sweat a little, and he began scratching the back of his head on instinct. "O-Oh, well, uh, y-you see, I'm-I'm going to a-a club meeting right now!"

Mina blinked slowly. "A club meeting?"

"Y-Yeah, a-a club meeting!"

"...I never knew you were a part of a club, Midoriya..."

"Wh-What makes you think that?"

"Well, I-I've been picking on you ever since the start of the school year, and I've never, ever seen you near the doorstep of any club."

_**"My God, how pathetic! Are you **_**really **_**gonna wimp out and cry over a silly manga?!"**_

Upon remembering the harassment he endured just a few weeks ago, Izuku hung his head and sighed. Upon seeing this, Mina gasped and covered her mouth.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Midoriya," she whispered. "I-I probably shouldn't have said that..."

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," Izuku replied coldly. He raised his head and walked past Mina. "I have to be going now."

"Look, Midoriya...I..."

But Izuku did not hear Mina finish her sentence. Instead, he kept walking towards the stairway, and once he reached the base, he looked up at the wooden stairs apprehensively. The second floor was right above him, the very floor that would put an end to this whole debacle with the locker room break-in.

On instinct, Izuku looked across his shoulder to see if Mina was still there, but she wasn't. He was alone in the hall now.

Without the slightest hint of hesitation, Izuku tightly grasped the straps of his bag and went up the stairs.

* * *

"Okay, you guys ready?"

"You betcha, Yamikumo!"

"I told you to stop calling me that..."

Izuku peeked his masked head out of the classroom door and looked both ways down the hallway. Once he was sure the hall was clear, he withdrew his head and looked back at the rest of the Hero Club. Mei, Nirengeki, Paula, Manzo, and Toru were wearing their previous costumes again. As for Eijiro, he was wearing one of his own; Izuku immediately recognized it as a cosplay for Crimson Riot, one of the characters from _Our Hero Academia_.

"When did Mustard say he'd come?" Izuku asked.

"In about-" Eijiro checked his wristwatch. "A couple more minutes. He's waiting till it's just the students on cleaning duty. Now then, how're we gonna go about this?"

"We wait for him to come and drop off what you ordered." Izuku then looked around. "Hatsume, how'd you convince the teacher to borrow this classroom after school hours anyway?"

Mei winked craftily. "I have my ways..."

"...Okay... I'll just ignore how suspicious that sounds..." He looked at Nirengeki. "Shoda-"

"Mines," Nirengeki corrected insistently.

"...Shoda, we're not out in public, you know..."

"I know, I know. I-It's just..." The short boy smiled bashfully. "I like that name, that's all..."

"..._Mines_, did you set up the camera?"

"Yep! And in a place that Mustard wouldn't even bother to look at, just like you instructed."

"Ooh, this is so _exciting_!" Mei squealed. "This is gonna be the Hero Club's first catch! This'll make the headlines! And you know what making the headlines means for us?!"

"W-Wh-What, H-Hatsume?" Toru asked.

"Good publicity!" Then, the otaku started counting her fingers frantically. "Ooh, ooh, I gotta think about how we're gonna maintain our public image! A-And the merchandise! And our salaries! And our-"

"Hold on," interrupted Manzo. "Merchandise? Salaries? Are you out of your- Never mind, I know the answer to that."

"For the last _time_, Hatsume!" Izuku wheezed. "After we catch Mustard and turn him in, we're DONE. No more Hero Club, no more pretending, no more investigating, no more...o-of _this_!"

"Yadda, yadda, yadda," Mei replied flippantly. "You may want out, Midoriya, but _I_ am all in on this, and I aaaaaiiiiinnnnn't coming out! And I know you wanna embrace your otaku side again, Midoriya! I can feel it! And here's a little advice from the doctor: you just need to learn how to have more fun. Like Kirishima-kun!"

Mei pointed at Eijiro, and Izuku noticed the redhead was admiring himself using his phone camera. With a frown, the boy looked back at the club president.

"That's because you misled him on how dangerous this could be!" he snapped.

"Who said anyone would be hurt here?"

"_I_ did, during lunchtime!"

Mei puffed her cheeks. "You're such a KJ, Midoriya."

"Hell yeah, Midoriya!" Eijiro cried boisterously. He wrapped an arm around Izuku's head and ruffled his green hair, much to his discomfort. "You need to lighten up!"

Before Izuku could protest any further, Paula suddenly put a finger to her lips.

"Shhhhh!" she whispered. "Someone's coming!"

Eijiro broke away from Izuku and peeked through the crack in the ajar door. Then, he grinned with triumph.

"Bingo," he said. "He's here."

"He is?" Izuku asked.

"What'd I just say, man? Look, he's even got one of those gay little shopping bags! I bet my order's in there! Heh. What the hell does he think this is, a shopping mall?"

Meanwhile, Nirengeki looked at Izuku. "The camera should be recording, Midoriya," he said. "Everything's being captured as we speak. Now, whaddaya want us to do once Mustard drops off the order?"

Izuku narrowed his eyes while he adjusted his mask. "We don't let him get away."

"Don't let him get away," Manzo repeated, grinning behind his paper mask. "I like the sound of _that_."

"Ooh, ooh!" Paula squealed. "Mustard just dropped the bag beside the bathroom door! Let's get him!"

"Alright!" Nirengeki exclaimed. "Ladies first!"

However, Paula and Toru looked at him with unsatisfied faces.

"Ladies first?" Paula repeated. "Why don't you be a gentleman and make the first move?"

Nirengeki started sweating. "B-B-But what if he f-fi-fights back?!"

"Guys, come _on_!" Toru moaned. "He's walking away!"

"I don't wanna get pummeled if he sees me coming!"

"Me neither!" added Manzo.

"Well, there's no way I'm getting touched by this creep," Paula replied. "He stole girls' underwear!"

"Are we really talking about this right now?!" Izuku exclaimed with disbelief.

"He's gonna turn around the corner, guys!" cried Toru.

"Oh, that's it!" Eijiro roared bestially. "I'll take care of this!"

Before anyone could stop him, the redheaded boy burst out of the classroom and started sprinting down the hallway with a loud yell that sounded like a battle-cry. On instinct, Izuku and the others followed him, just in time to see a bewildered boy with bone-gray hair being tackled to the floor by Eijiro.

"AGH!" the boy cried. "WHAT THE **HELL**?!"

"You stay right where you are, Mustard!" growled Eijiro. "Stay right there!"

"The fuck, Kirishima?! Why're you and your pals in all that getup?! And what's all this about?!"

"The break-in at the girls' P.E. locker room," Izuku snarled while he caught up to Eijiro and helped him pin Mustard down. "And the theft of several articles of girls' underwear."

A glint of terror passed through Mustard's eye before the boy sneered. "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about, Midoriya."

"You _know_ who he is?!" Eijiro snapped while tightening his grip on Mustard.

"Ow, ow, ow! _Everyone_ knows what kind of costume Midoriya used weeks ago! Even you do, Kirishima! Of course I know who he is underneath that mask! OW, OW, OW! Please, Kirishima! Ease it up, man; you're hurting me!"

"Can't be any worse than all the emotional pain you put those girls through!"

"Again, I have no idea what you're talking a-"

He was interrupted when a bra and pair of panties landed on the floor, just several centimeters away from his face. Izuku looked up and saw Mei standing over them, holding a small shopping bag.

"Does this answer your question, Villain?" she asked triumphantly.

But Mustard sneered as he started to look up. "Perhaps," he replied. "Now I've got another question."

"And what's that?"

"Are those _teddy bears_ on those cute panties of yours?"

Izuku promptly grabbed Mustard's arm and twisted it behind his back, bending it at an unnatural angle.

"AAAGGGHHH! NO, NO, NO! PLEASE, DON'T DO THAT! PLEASE! YOU'LL BREAK IT!"

"Then take those words back, Mustard," snarled Izuku, "and confess to the theft."

"And tell us where the rest of the stolen items are too!" Paula added.

"Okay, okay!" Mustard cried frantically. "I take it back, I take it back!"

Izuku loosened his grip somewhat, but he refused to let the arm leave its current uncomfortable angle.

"Now confess to the thefts," he growled quietly but menacingly.

However, Mustard looked up at him, terrified. "Look, I take those words back, but I swear, I have nothing to do with what happened yesterday!"

"DON'T LIE TO US!"

"I swear! I-I mean, I thought they arrested Mineta for that-"

"Then how'd you get the underwear?" interrupted Nirengeki.

Mustard didn't answer, forcing Izuku to bend his arm even more. "Tell us, Mustard!"

"OW, OW, OW! OKAY, OKAY! I'LL TALK, I'LL **TALK**! AGH!" Once Izuku relaxed his grip again, Mustard said, "B-But...y-you _have_ to promise you won't tell anyone about this. I don't wanna get suspended-"

"You're in possession of stolen items," Izuku growled. "We can't promise you that."

"And don't forget whose arm is being bent behind their back right now," added Manzo.

Mustard cursed quietly before replying, "M-Mi-Mineta gave 'em to me..."

There was a brief but uncomfortable silence. Then, Eijiro asked, "Mineta?"

"Y...Yeah... L-Look, I-I didn't know those were the things stolen from the girls' locker room-"

"But you didn't bother to ask?!" snapped Izuku.

"M-Mineta knew all about my b-bu-business s-sellin' guys stuff. Y-You know, w-ways to release p-pe-pent-up stress-"

"Yeah, we're aware," Paula replied with disgust.

"H-He was trying to help me out! A-And I wanted to make more quick bucks! S-So I accepted the underwear wi-without question! I-I honestly thought he nicked 'em from a used clothing store or somethin'-"

"Well, he didn't, man," Eijiro interrupted.

"Because we know _you_ did all of it," Izuku snarled. "The break-in, the stealing, the selling, _everything_."

"I SWEAR!" shrieked Mustard. "I'M SO, SO SORRY I TRIED TO SELL STOLEN STUFF, BUT I PROMISE YOU, I'M INNOCENT IN ALL OF THIS!"

Izuku flipped Mustard over and grabbed him by the collar of his school uniform. He raised a fist and aimed it at the boy's face, staring angrily into his terrified eyes. Mustard's bone-gray hair was now even more unkempt and glimmering beads of sweat were developing on his forehead.

"You're _lying_!" Izuku shouted. "How'd you know the cup size of one of the bras found in Mineta's locker, then?!"

"C-Cu-_Cup size_?!" stuttered Mustard. "What the hell are you even talking about?!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

"I swear, I don't! You must've been hearing things, man, 'cause I didn't say shit when the cops came in!"

Izuku gritted his teeth. "I _know_ it was you-"

At that moment, behind the terrified mask, Mustard's lips subtly twitched into a confident, arrogant sneer, one so small that it could never be seen from even a short distance. He leaned his head towards Izuku's by a fraction of a centimeter, and he whispered something under his breath. His lips barely moved and his own teeth were clenched, further restricting movement in his mouth.

"Can you prove it, then?"

Izuku's eyes expanded to the sizes of saucers. _"It _is _him..."_ he thought. _"_He _committed the thefts... _He _framed Mineta..."_

Suddenly, he felt a hand grip his shoulder, and he looked behind him to see Manzo shaking his head.

"Let him go, man," he said. "It's not worth it."

"_No_, Fukidashi! He did it, I know it-"

"Dude," Nirengeki interrupted, "he just said Mineta gave the underwear to him. That...honestly makes sense..."

"You can't be _serious_!"

"Honestly," Paula replied, "I can't believe we didn't think of that before. That alternative makes a lot more sense than the possibility of a frame-up-"

"B-But what about the guy who knew what cup size the bra was?!"

"He says he didn't say those words," responded Nirengeki. "And to be honest, Midoriya, we can't prove he said it."

"But weren't you sitting close to him when you heard those words?!"

"Dude, I don't pay attention to who I sit next to in the gym locker!"

Izuku was in total disbelief. "Why _don't_ you?!"

"I..." Nirengeki started fiddling with his fingers nervously. "I don't want to attract attention to myself..."

"Mi-Mid-Midoriya..." Toru stuttered. "G-Gi-Give it up... I-It's over..."

Izuku's lower jaw hung open, and he started shaking his head slowly. "No..." he moaned. "_No_, it _can't_ be over..."

"Hey, look on the bright side, Midoriya," Manzo replied. "At least we know where Mineta got rid of the rest of his stash..." He grabbed Mustard by the shoulder and ripped him away from Izuku's grasp. "Speaking of which, show us where you're keeping the rest of the stuff Mineta stole. _Then_ we turn you in to the principal."

"Wh-What?!" Mustard exclaimed. "B-But I thought y-you'd-"

"We didn't promise you anything, creep," Paula said. "Now lead the way."

Mustard cursed under his breath again. Then, he reluctantly walked ahead of the group, with Manzo right behind him, his hand still on the boy's shoulder. Nirengeki, Paula, and Toru followed them, while a dumbfounded Izuku remained behind with Mei and Eijiro. Eijiro promptly placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder.

"It's alright, man," the redhead said. "At least we know the full story."

But Izuku continued to watch Mustard as the rest of the Hero Club escorted him down the hall. He could faintly feel both of his fists shaking.

"I...I _really_ thought Mineta didn't do it..." the green-haired boy whispered, almost to himself.

"Ah don't sweat it, partner!" Mei cried enthusiastically while lightly clapping Izuku on the shoulder. "We got to the bottom of this case, and that's what matters the most! We even got to find the rest of the stuff Mineta stole!" Then, her eyes lit up. "Oh, that reminds me! I gotta get Shoda's camera..."

The female otaku ran off, leaving behind a perplexed Izuku and a sympathetic Eijiro."

"But..." Izuku said, "it...it wasn't supposed to end like this..."

"Oh, come on, Midoriya," Eijiro replied. "I, uh, I don't mean to offend you, but...this isn't like one of the manga you keep reading. This is-"

"Real life," Izuku completed somberly. "Yes, yes, I know..." He continued to watch Mustard as he was still being escorted away by Nirengeki, Paula, Manzo, and Toru. "It's just...I...I really, _really_ thought it was him. It all made so much sense."

"Well, we already got him. He admitted to having the stolen underwear in his possession. He was in the middle of selling some to us, even. And it was all caught on tape." Eijiro patted Izuku's shoulder. "Trust me, Midoriya. When we turn that perv in to the principal, he's gonna be booted out of the school before you even know it. You should be proud of yourself. After all, you did what no cop in this town was able to do: take this whole thing seriously and get to the bottom of it. And that, Midoriya..." He wrapped an arm around Izuku and held him close with a friendly grin. "Is _manly_."

Izuku took a deep breath and exhaled slowly through his nose. Then as Mustard turned a corner with the rest of the Hero Club, he shook his head with pursed lips.

"I should be proud of myself?" he asked. When Eijiro nodded, he responded, "Then why do I still feel awful? Like I hadn't actually won anything out of this?"

Eijiro glanced sideways at him, his eyes shimmering with pity. Then, he cracked another smile and started to guide Izuku down the hall, with Mei hot on their heels.

"Lighten up a little, man," he said. "Look on the bright side! Mustard's been caught and he'll be getting the punishment he most rightfully deserves tomorrow! There's absolutely nothing to be worried about."

* * *

"THEY SUSPENDED MUSTARD FOR THREE DAYS?!"

Eijiro then looked around and realized everyone was looking at him now. His face turned as red as his hair as he sat back down on the cafeteria table. Izuku, Mei, and the rest of the Hero Club stared awkwardly at him; all of them were wearing their school uniforms again.

"Yeah, that's what Fukidashi and I heard," Nirengeki said.

"Darn!" Mei snapped, slamming her fist down on the table and startling Paula in the process. "I thought we had that little creep! Shoda, didn't you show the principal the tape you recorded?!"

Nirengeki pursed his lips. "Yeah, that's the thing... It recorded everything. _Including_ Mustard saying Mineta gave him the underwear and he didn't know where they actually came from."

"So you're saying it helped lighten his punishment?" Paula asked with disbelief.

"P-Pretty much. And...he was also helped by the fact that we strong-armed him into making that confession. It may have led the police to the items they were searching for, but what we did wasn't exactly ethical. I-It's actually a good thing we were wearing those disguises when we jumped Mustard, otherwise we would've been expelled for assaulting a student."

"So all we did was just make Mineta's punishment worse," Izuku remarked. Then, he buried his face in his palms. "That's just great..."

"Hey, look on the bright side, guys," replied Paula. "At least we helped find the rest of the stuff that was stolen."

"Y-Ye-Yeah," Toru said, nodding her unremarkable head meekly. "T-To be honest...th-this is the f-f-first time I d-did s-so-something like th-th-this..."

"Words can't describe how I feel right now," Manzo added. He looked at Izuku and patted his shoulder. "H-Hey, Midoriya, thank you."

"Thank you?" Izuku repeated. He looked at him, glum-faced. "For what? For proving my lil' theory wrong and giving good ole perverted Mineta his comeuppance?"

"N-_Nooooo_... F-For dragging us along in this lil' operation and making us do something worthwhile in our lives..."

"Worthwhile?" Izuku scoffed. "We didn't do _anything_ worthwhile, Fukidashi."

"What're you talking about, Midoriya?!" exclaimed Paula with disbelief. "You know, I overheard some girls in the hallway. They're _sooooo_ happy the case was closed! They feel safe again! And all of us helped out with that! Us, the last people in this school anyone would expect to help out. Th-The people considered the weirdos and loners of the school!" Then, she quickly, bashfully looked at Eijiro. "P-Pr-Present company excepted."

"Ah, it's cool," Eijiro replied earnestly.

"And so what if Mineta wasn't innocent just like you believed?" Nirengeki asked. "Hey, just because you were the one to turn him in doesn't mean you should feel guilty about it, Midoriya."

Izuku tightened his lips upon hearing those words. Then, he stood up and started walking away from the table.

"Hey, Midoriya!" called Paula. "Where are you going?!"

But the boy didn't respond. Instead, he left the cafeteria with his head hanging low and his hands in his pockets.

_"They're right,"_ he thought. _"They're _right_. We cracked the case. We did what the cops couldn't. We got the chance to be Heroes and do what Heroes would do in _Our Hero Academia_: do the right thing. That should've been enough for me. That should've been. I should just accept this truth and move on with my life. Go back to Uraraka and her group, be a normal kid like Shimura-san wanted. I should."_

Then, he started clutching at the inside fabric of his pockets.

_"Then...why do I get the feeling that this whole thing isn't finished?"_

"Hey, Midoriya!"

Startled, Izuku looked over his shoulder and saw Mei running up to him. She had the same determined, semi-manic look on her face, which made the boy doubt she would have anything useful or productive to say.

"What is it, Hatsume?" he asked glumly while he continued walking.

"I just wanted you to know that I still believe you!" Mei cried as she joined Izuku's side. "I still think Mustard put Mineta through a real big frame-job! And as your faithful Sidekick, I want you to know that if you have anything in mind, then I-"

"Hatsume," Izuku interrupted with a quiet, restrained voice, "you heard them. It's over. All of it. We got Mustard and the rest of the stolen underwear. The school doesn't have to worry about it anymore."

"Well, it's not over till you say it's over!"

"I _just_ said it's over, Hatsume-"

"Heh, yeah, and Ground Zero started being super-nice and generous to Yamikumo." When this caught Izuku's attention, Mei continued, "You're not buying Mustard's story, Midoriya! I can tell from your voice." She gestured to herself proudly. "Remember, you're looking at the girl who set a world record for watching the most anime marathons in a single week!"

"That must've taken a lot of energy out of you afterward," Izuku deadpanned.

"Yeah, well, you know as well as I do that this is NOT over! Not by a long shot! We're gonna get to the bottom of this and we'll get Mustard for the lying, thieving perv he truly is! And _then_ Mineta can get the justice he deserves!"

Izuku stopped abruptly. "You've _gotta_ stop, Hatsume."

"Oh, come _on_, Midoriya! Where's that Hero fighting spirit?! Where's your inner Yamikumo?! Where's-"

"Okay, you know what, Hatsume?!" the green-haired boy suddenly snapped. "If _you're_ so freaking convinced of Mineta's innocence, then why don't you investigate all by yourself?! You, you've got that Hero fighting spirit! You've got your-your inner Yamikumo! Why don't you do it?!"

"But a Sidekick doesn't go _anywhere_ without their Hero!"

"I thought you promoted yourself to Hero when you started that stupid Hero Club?"

Mei frowned angrily. "Well, Hero or not, I'll _always_ be your Sidekick! And don't call the Hero Club stupid. You didn't have a problem with it yesterday!"

"The Hero Club is stupid."

"...Okay, Midoriya." Mei chuckled nervously. "Y-You're being a lil' immature-"

"Says the girl who set the world record for watching the most anime marathons in a single week."

"Says the guy who dressed up in Hero getup like the rest of us!"

"Because I was actually being _smart_ about it, unlike a certain someone who treated all of it like a game."

Mei blinked thrice in rapid succession. Then, she smirked.

"At least I wasn't being a killjoy about it. At least _I_ was having fun."

"Then go have fun without me," growled Izuku. "I'm done playing your stupid, childish game, Hatsume. I am _not_ a Hero, and you are _not_ my Sidekick. We're supposed to be _ordinary_ people." Then, before he could restrain himself, he smirked back at her. "But I guess you're too crazy to realize that."

Mei stared at him, dumbfounded. "What'd you just say...?" she asked.

Izuku grinned manically at her, his teeth flashing horribly. His mind felt hazy as he relished in his words.

"You heard me, Hatsume! You're crazy! You're a crazy, crazy girl and a defenseless otaku-"

He suddenly felt a ruthless, unstoppable force collide with his left cheek. His head jerked violently to the side, and just a split-second later, his cheek felt like it had been stamped with a white-hot cast iron. Wincing, Izuku rubbed his cheek and looked back at Mei with bewilderment. It was then when he saw something he had never seen before: a teary-eyed Mei, completely devoid of any semblance of mania.

"Well, then," she tried to say calmly, but she was already starting to cry, "you're a big, big bully..."

Before Izuku could say anything, Mei turned around and sprinted away in the opposite direction. One part of him wanted to reach out to her and apologize endlessly, but the other held him back out of a mixture of spite and disbelief.

_"Oh, my God... I...I can't believe I just did that... I can't believe I actually_ broke_ Hatsume... Jeez, that actually felt pretty horrible, like I broke some law of nature..."_

All of a sudden, he felt eyes on him, and he turned around to see...

"U-Uraraka!" he exclaimed. "K-Kodai!"

Ochako stared back with shock. "Wow, Midoriya..." she said with disbelief. "You...You _really_ just snapped at Hatsume just now..."

_"Holy crap! Just how much of our conversation did they hear?!"_

Then, he asked, "H-How much d-did you hear...?"

"Enough," the chestnut-haired girl replied. Yui nodded with affirmation.

Izuku gulped. "L-Look, i-it's not wh-what you think it is-"

"I think it's _exactly_ what I heard," Ochako interrupted. She was staring at the floor, and her hair was obscuring her eyes. "Out of all the people I've ever known, I imagined you as the last guy who'd call anyone crazy. Or a defenseless otaku."

"W-Wa-Wait a minute, Uraraka, Kodai, y-you guys misunder-"

"Don't make excuses, Midoriya!" Ochako raised her round face, revealing a shocking expression of outrage. "You have to understand that Hatsume loves what she does. Watching anime and reading manga are her hobbies- no, they're a whole lot more than hobbies, they're essential components to her life! Sure, she may get a lil' carried away, but that does NOT give you the right to call her crazy or anything else like that." Ochako narrowed her eyes. "In fact, it makes things even _worse_ in your case, because if anyone knows what it feels to be called those names, it's _you_, Midoriya."

_"I-I can't believe it,"_ Izuku thought. _"Those words are _actually _coming out of Uraraka-san's mouth right now. And what's worse, she's...she's _right_..."_

**_"Yeah, you tell the otaku, Bakugo!"_**

_**"What's the matter, Midoriya? Want your little storybook back?"**_

_**"Well of course a douchebag knows a fellow douchebag when they see one!"**_

_**"My God, how pathetic! Are you **_**really**_** gonna wimp out and cry over a silly manga?!"**_

_**"He's so lame. No wonder everyone can sense him from a mile away. His lameness is a smell of its own! He's not cut out for anything!"**_

_**"**_**_That's all that you are, Midoriya. A defenseless otaku."_**

**_"You're crazy! You're a crazy, crazy girl and a defenseless otaku!"_**

_"Crap..."_ Izuku promptly buried his face in his palms. _"I can't believe I _said _that to her! I'm so stupid!"_

Then, he started slapping and punching himself in anger, all the while shouting, "Stupid, stupid, STUPID!"

"Midoriya, no!"

Ochako rushed forward and grabbed one of his arms, while Yui calmly grabbed the other. The two girls held on tightly to them, stopping Izuku from striking himself. Now that he was restrained, Izuku started crying, prompting other students to give him wary, confused looks as they passed by.

"I'm sorry, Uraraka!" Izuku wailed between sobs. "I'm so, so sorry! I'm sorry..."

"You don't have to apologize to me, Midoriya," Ochako replied, her voice now more soft and comforting. "You tell that to Hatsume yourself."

"But _how_?! She wants to keep trying to prove Mineta's innocence!"

Ochako blinked rapidly. "Wait, what?"

Izuku continued, "But all the club did was prove Mineta gave the underwear to Mustard and make his punishment worse! We did nothing to prove he was framed! And now the principal thinks Mustard was an innocent bystander and suspended him for only three days and now he'll never buy the club's story that Mustard was the real thief and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, Midoriya, slow _down_!" When Izuku complied, Ochako asked slowly, and with uncertainty, "Did...Did you just say...that you think...Mineta, _the_ biggest and most horrid pervert of the school...was _framed_? And by some guy called _Mustard_?"

Izuku sniffled and wiped his eyes, being able to do so now that Ochako had unknowingly let go of his arm.

"Y-Yeah..." he replied with a shaky voice. "Hatsume w-wa-wants to keep pr-pr-pressing on...but we've g-g-got n-nothing else t-to prove..."

"O-Okay... S-So, um...M-Midoriya, d-did you just say...that you think...Mineta, _the_ biggest and most horrid pervert of the school...was _framed_? And by some guy called _Mustard_?"

"Y-Yeah..." This time, Izuku was confused. "Wh-Why d'you have that look on your face?" Then, he looked at Yui, who too had released his arm. "And you too, Kodai...?"

Yui merely blinked back in response. Then, Izuku stared at the trashcan that was sitting on the other side of the hallway. A horrible realization was starting to dawn on him.

"Ummm... E-Exactly _how much_ did you hear of my conversation with Hatsume...?"

"We walked in the moment you started calling Hatsume crazy..." Ochako replied.

"Oh." Then, Izuku started waving his hands frantically, while sweat started pouring down his face. "L-L-Look, U-Uraraka, K-Kodai, th-this isn't what you think!"

"I think it is _exactly_ what I think!" The chestnut-haired girl crossed her arms. "You...You think _Minoru Mineta_ didn't steal all of that _underwear_ in the girls' locker room?! You _really_ think he's _innocent_?! That he didn't do _anything_?!"

"L-Look, I will admit, that's what I seriously thought! A-And I know how stupid that sounds!"

"It doesn't sound stupid, Midoriya. It sounds _absolutely freaking outlandish_! I mean, w-why in the world would you _think_ that?! Have you heard of all the stuff he's done to girls in the past?!"

"Yes, I know how much of a pervert he is. A-And I know how crazy my hypothesis sounds. But it doesn't matter anyway. We were proven wrong-"

"What do you mean 'we'?!" Then, Ochako's eyes widened with realization. "_That's_ why you were with Hatsume in the first place?!"

"She was the first one to believe me-"

"First one?!"

Izuku winced before replying, "Th-The rest of her club tagged along as well...a-and Ki-Kirishima-"

"You and _Kirishima_?" The girl batted her eyelids. "That's...a _really_ weird combination." Then, her eyes widened. "N-N-Not that I mean you shouldn't be hanging out with Kirishima! I'm-I'm glad you two are somehow getting along-"

"It doesn't matter, Uraraka. We didn't find anything that proved Mineta didn't do what he was accused of doing. I simply accepted the facts and moved on..."

"But Hatsume couldn't," completed Ochako with understanding.

Izuku nodded. "She sorta thinks we're roleplaying as characters from a manga she likes...and she kept urging me not to lose hope... That's why you heard me snapping at her... Calling her crazy..."

"W-Well...believing that Mineta isn't guilty of anything like that is...in-indeed crazy...b-but what you said wasn't that right way to go about it, Midoriya! You need to apologize to her and tell her the truth on what you think."

"Yeah..." Izuku looked down at the floor, crestfallen. "I should do that..."

But before the boy could act, he and the girls heard the bell ringing through the halls. The other students in the hallway with them reacted almost instantly, packing up their lunches and heading for their lockers for their school supplies. Izuku sighed and looked at Ochako and Yui with reluctance.

"Maybe after school is out," he said. "I mean...I don't know what classes Hatsume takes..."

"Okay, Midoriya," the chestnut-haired girl replied, before her lips curved into a frown. "But you know as well as I do that Hatsume's not gonna let that comment go. Now, I don't know the full story between the two of you, but if you care about her and don't want her to keep turning her back on you, then you gotta apologize sometime today, okay?"

"Su-Sure thing..." Then, Izuku blushed intensely with embarrassment. "And th-th-there's nothing going on between t-the two of us, Uraraka!"

Ochako blinked with surprise. "I wasn't implying anything like that, Midoriya..."

"O-Oh. G-Good..." Then, Izuku thought to himself, _"I don't want Uraraka to think I'm already taken or anything..."_

All of a sudden, Ochako crossed her arms. "Midoriya," she said, "is there something else you wanna tell me?"

"H-_Huh_?!" Izuku's face turned even redder than ever before. "N-No! I've got nothing else to say, I swear!"

Ochako continued to stare at him suspiciously, which left Izuku highly tense. _"Oh, no!"_ he thought. _"Uraraka's not buying it! She thinks I've got something else to say! Probably about how I feel about her! Ohhhhh, why'd I have to say Hatsume and I aren't an item?! Why'd I have to say that of all things?!"_

Suddenly, his crush broke the awkward tension by saying, "Okay, Midoriya. If you insist."

"Y-Ye-Yes!" Izuku straightened out his posture and stood at attention. "I do insist!"

"Okaaaaay..." Ochako turned around. "And remember, you need to apologize to Hatsume. There's one thing that's worse than being a bully...and it's becoming one after being a victim for so long."

Izuku watched regretfully as she walked away. Yui remained for a moment, staring at him with her intimidatingly blank, almost robotic expression. Then, she finally turned on her heel and followed after her cousin.

* * *

The final ringing of the school bell pulled Izuku out of his brief stupor. In that moment, he realized many of the students in his class were now filing out of the room. Orange sunlight was pouring through the windows. In an instant, the green-haired boy remembered his task, and with that, he began packing up his stuff.

"We'll see you later, Midoriya," a voice said.

Izuku looked up and saw Tenya nodding at him. Momo and Shoto were right behind him; the former was looking at him with an expectant look, while the latter was lost in thought as usual. At first, he was going to ask, but then, he realized.

"Uraraka told you guys what happened between me and Hatsume..." he concluded.

Tenya nodded, allowing Izuku to continue packing. However, he was stopped by Momo's voice.

"Midoriya...was Uraraka telling us the truth? Do you _really_ believe Minoru Mineta _didn't_ commit that break-in at the girls' locker room?"

"To be perfectly honest, Yaoyorozu," he replied, "I'm...I'm not sure anymore..." He resumed packing once again. "But if someone like Mustard-"

"Who?"

"The boy who was just suspended. F-For having the stuff that wasn't found in Mineta's locker."

"Yes, I've heard of that boy..." Tenya replied while shaking his head with disappointment. "It's a shame. Even an indirect affiliation with that deviant Mineta will get one into a great amount of trouble."

Izuku frowned as he finished packing up. "That's the thing, Iida. The fact that we- I mean, the police _just_ discovered his involvement changes what we know about the crime. Why would Mineta give the rest of his stash to someone else? Why would he risk exposing himself by getting another student involved after the crime? It just doesn't make a lot of sense-"

"You know, Midoriya," Tenya interrupted hesitantly, "I hold a certain degree of appreciation for your willingness to see the good side of people. But sometimes, _sometimes_...there's no good side to people. Some people are just born with twisted minds. And if you trust those kinds of people as much as anyone else, you're only gonna get yourself into trouble."

"I know that, Iida. I really do."

"Then why are you assuming such good faith on a pervert like Mineta? Uraraka told us about how you and Hatsume tried to search for clues that proved Mineta's innocence. She said that _you_ said your search went nowhere."

Izuku sighed softly. "Because...deep down...I _know_ there's a good side to Mineta. A piece of me still does. Now, I know it may be a long shot, proving that he didn't do what he's accused of doing...in spite of his history..." He put on his bag. "I know that. But it's a whole lot better than immediately assuming he has no good side." He secured the straps of his bag. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. I gotta go find Hatsume and apologize."

"W-We'll see you, Midoriya..." Momo said, surprised as Izuku quickly passed by her.

_"How could Iida say something like that?"_ the boy thought as he left the classroom. _"I know he means well, but does he expect me to __just look the other way? Even when someone is insisting their innocence? I...I can't do that!"_

Just then, a passing stripe of red caught his eye, and Izuku looked sideways in time to see a familiar group walking away from him. He felt a growing sense of discomfort bubbling up within his stomach, while horrible memories of manga pages being stained by egg white invaded his mind. However, Izuku ignored that physiological reaction and walked towards the group as quickly as he could.

_"I can't believe I'm _actually _walking up to them instead of running away,"_ he thought bitterly. _"Great."_

"Hey, Kirishima!" he called.

The redhead stopped and turned around. Once he spotted Izuku, he grinned, flashing his shark-like teeth.

"Yo, Midoriya!" he replied.

_"This is _sooo _weird..."_ Izuku thought. Then, he asked, "Hey, did you happen to know where Hatsume takes her classes?"

"Well, not-"

"YO!" a voice barked. "SHITTY HAIR!"

Eijiro looked over his shoulder. "Yeah, Bakugo?"

At that moment, Izuku realized Eijiro wasn't the only one in the hall with him. Hobbling up to them was Katsuki; his fiery hazel eyes were bulging with utmost fury, and his grip on the crutches was so tight Izuku almost feared he made break the handles. Right behind Katsuki were Mina, Denki, Hanta, and Yuga, but only Yuga was regarding Izuku with as much hostility as his ashy-blond leader.

"Why the hell are you over there talking to those nerds?!" Katsuki snapped. "Come on! We've got some practicing to do!"

"Uhhhhh..." Eijiro looked at Izuku for a moment, then back at Katsuki. "Sorry, Bakugo! I...I gotta take care of something with him-"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! DID THAT ASS-KICKING MAKE YOU GO FULL RETARD OR WHAT?! DON'T YOU FORGET, HE'S AN OTAKU WHO CAN'T HANDLE REALITY!"

"Indeed!" Yuga added with a pompous smile. "Don't be _stupide_."

"Aw, come on, Bakugo!" Eijiro said. "He saved our-"

"HE DIDN'T SAVE SHIT!" Katsuki roared, flecks of spit flying through his teeth. "WE WERE HANDLING OURSELVES JUST FINE BACK THEN, AND YOU KNOW IT!"

Izuku's eyes expanded with shock as he watched Eijiro _flinch_ at Katsuki's outburst.

_"Holy whoa,"_ he thought. _"I've never seen Kirishima get so scared before...much less with _Kacchan_ of all people!"_

"NOW YOU COME PRACTICE BASEBALL WITH US OR I'LL BE KICKING YOUR ASS TOMORROW, YA HEAR ME?!"

"Bakugo!" someone barked. Izuku looked over his shoulder and saw Tenya stepping out of the classroom with Momo and Shoto right behind him. "You are in a school, an educational institution! You should be more respectful by-"

Katsuki cut him off by slamming one of his crutches onto the floor. "SHOVE YOUR RESPECT UP YOUR DAMN ASS, FOUR-EYES!" Then, he redirected his rage back to Eijiro. "LET'S **GO**, SHITTY HAIR! I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"

"Bakugo, calm down-" began Denki.

"I **AM** CALM, YA HEAR ME?! SO SHUT YOUR TRAP, JAMMING-YAY!"

Denki blinked rapidly, affronted. "Wow, that was _so_ uncalled for!"

"Yeah, man!" exclaimed Hanta, beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead. "What the heck's gotten _into_ you?"

"I'll tell you what's gotten into him," a new voice said calmly. "His big ego's taken a big hit."

Izuku's eyes widened with shock and a hint of terror as Ochako and Yui calmly passed the group, disregarding Katsuki's rage. Not unexpectedly, the ashy-blond looked like he was about to explode like a nuclear bomb.

"What..." Katsuki growled before completely exploding. **"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY, ROUND FACE?!"**

Ochako shot him a scathing look. "Oh, you heard me, Bakugo," she replied. She stopped walking while Yui joined Tenya, Momo, and Shoto. "Your pride's been wounded. It's so wounded, in fact, that you're now resorting to insulting your own friends to make yourself feel better. And for what? You cannot even bring yourself to admit you needed help back in the alleyway, when even your closest lackey can."

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment..." Eijiro said slowly.

"SHUT **UP**, SHITTY HAIR!" Katsuki roared before marching over to Ochako. "Listen here, bitch, you think you are all high and mighty, saying all that to my fucking _face_, but don't forget!" He jabbed a thumb in his chest. "_I'm_ Katsuki Bakugo!"

Ochako merely blinked. "Yeah, I noticed-"

He jabbed his thumb again.

"_I'm_ the star of this godforsaken school!"

He jabbed it yet again.

"I'm GOD under these roofs!"

He slammed one of his crutches beside Ochako's foot, but she didn't flinch.

"NO ONE QUESTIONS ME EXCEPT FOR MYSELF! AND I **NEVER** QUESTION MYSELF, BECAUSE I'M THE FUCKING **BEST**!"

As Katsuki ranted and raved, everyone in the hall was flinching and motioning to cover their ears, with the exceptions of Shoto, who remained composed as usual, and _Ochako_, of all people. The chestnut-haired girl simply absorbed the ashy-blond's explosive outbursts like rubber deflecting something thrown at it. Once Katsuki was done speaking, she blinked.

"You're not the best, Bakugo," she said calmly. "You just keep telling yourself that."

_"Oh, my God!"_ Izuku thought with rising terror. _"What're you _doing_, Uraraka?! You're just gonna get yourself killed!"_

Katsuki's face twitched violently, and Izuku was prepared to step in and take a beating for his crush. But right before he could move his foot, another voice spoke up.

"Alright, what's going on here?"

Stepping out into the hallway from another classroom was none other than Aizawa. Though his eyes appeared baggy as usual, his stare was piercing, which was enough to make all of the teenagers tense...except for Katsuki, that is.

"Why am I hearing such an immature, disrespectful racket in the halls?" Aizawa asked, his voice low and cold.

"We apologize, Aizawa-sensei!" Tenya replied while bowing his head. "I promise, I shall see to it that we maintain better conduct in the hallway from now on!"

"I hope so." Aizawa regarded Katsuki, who stared daggers back at him. "Especially for _your_ sake, Bakugo. Your voice was the most distinguishable in that clamor. I suggest you keep your volume to a minimum if you do not wish get detention."

The ashy-blond boy gritted his teeth, but otherwise, he did nothing to resist the teacher's warnings. Aizawa gave the rest of the group a hard glare before turning around and walking away. The teens watched him, and once he turned a corner and went out of sight, Katsuki glared at Ochako.

"I'm gonna make you eat those words tomorrow, bitch," he growled.

"I'm sure you will," Ochako replied flatly.

Katsuki's eyelid twitched, making Izuku fear for the girl's safety again. Then, he took a slow, deep breath...and started to laugh.

_"Now Kacchan's _laughing_?"_ Izuku thought with bewilderment. _"That can't be good..."_

"You've got guts, Round Face," he said. "I'll give you that."

"Oh." Ochako's frown deepened. "Now you're complimenting me. I'm _sooo_ flattered."

Katsuki pursed his lips at the girl's sarcasm, but he maintained his newfound cheerful demeanor. He leaned his face close to hers, prompting her to lean backward out of disgust.

"Yes, keep on talking. But I'll have you know that _no girl_ has ever resisted me. Sooner or later, one way or another, they all bend to my will in the end."

Ochako retched a little. "Are you...trying to _flirt_ with me?"

"No." Katsuki then grinned lecherously. "_But_...it's funny that you would assume that. If you want me to, I _will_. In fact..." His eyes wandered down to her chest, making Izuku retch. "I can do _anything_ you want, as long as you ask nicely-"

"Alright, that's _enough_, Bakugo."

It wasn't Tenya that spoke, or even Eijiro. Katsuki grunted as a tanned hand yanked him away from Ochako's proximity, nearly causing him to collapse to the ground. He gritted his teeth with anger as he glared at the person who interrupted his exchange with Ochako.

"Oi!" he snapped. "What the hell do ya think you're _doing_, Ashido?!"

"Reeling you in," Mina replied. "That's what."

Izuku was surprised to hear the disgust in the ganguro's voice, and he could faintly see her body trembling.

"_Ehhhhh_?" Yuga uttered. "What's gotten _into_ you, Ashido? You've been acting strangely lately. _Très étrange_."

"Maybe I had a lil' eye-opener." Mina promptly joined Eijiro's side. "So, if you're gonna continue being a bigger dick than usual, Bakugo, then I suggest hightailing it, 'cause I want no part in it."

"A-_Ashido_?" Eijiro asked incredulously, while the others stared on with disbelief.

"Yeah, s-same here!" Denki cried. He joined Eijiro and Mina, with Hanta following right behind him. "Being beat up really screwed your mojo, Bakugo! You gotta see that!"

"I ain't seeing _shit_!" Katsuki growled. "My mojo is fucking _fine_, you dumbasses! Now get back over here!"

But neither Eijiro, Mina, Denki, or Hanta budged an inch. Izuku, Tenya, and Momo stared at them with shock and a little wonder, while Ochako crossed her arms triumphantly.

"You see, Bakugo?" she asked. "Even your friends agree that you're getting out of hand." Then, she eyed Yuga, who was still beside Katsuki. "Except for him, but he's always been a dummy, so-"

"I believe the correct term is _génie_, _m__ademoiselle_," Yuga boasted in response.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute!" Hanta replied. "So you're a genie?"

"What's a genie?" Denki asked.

"Who the fuck gives a shit if Aoyama is a damn genie or not?!" Katsuki snapped. "Get your retarded asses back here or-"

"_No_, Bakugo," Mina interrupted, her eyes narrowed. "Midoriya _saved_ us. He could've left all of us in the hands of those..." She gulped. "Those _thugs_...but he didn't. He stopped to help us, and he put in all the effort he could. No matter what we did to him, he still wanted to help us. He wanted to help _you_, Bakugo, because you were his best friend."

Izuku stared at Mina incredulously. _"She...She _knows_? But...But _how_...?"_

**_"You're my best friend. I...I couldn't just leave you like that. No matter what you've done to me."_**

_"Did she overhear our conversation yesterday? Is that why she was nearby in the first place?"_

"But you cannot appreciate what he did for you," Mina continued, ignoring the shocked look developing on Katsuki's face. "If you can't appreciate a friend's efforts, then...how can I keep being your friend...?"

"Y-Yeah..." Denki added, though he was staring at Mina with confusion. "Wh-What she said..."

Katsuki stared at Hanta, who nodded nervously at him. Then, he looked at Eijiro; the redhead looked extremely reluctant in his actions, but nevertheless, he remained still. Eventually, the ashy-blond growled angrily, turned around, and began limping away.

"**FINE, THEN**!" he roared, his voice echoing loudly across the hallways. "IF YOU FOUR WANNA BE GODDAMN TRAITORS AND NOT PRACTICE WITH ME, THEN THAT'S FINE BY ME! I'VE GOT MORE FRIENDS WHO WON'T FUCKING **BACK-STAB** ME LIKE YOU LOSERS! I'VE GOT A WHOLE BUNCH OF DAMN REPLACEMENTS FOR ALL OF YOU! SO GO ON AHEAD! STAY WITH THE NERDS AND THE OTAKUS AND THE LOSERS! LIKE I GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ANY OF YOU!"

"B-Bakugo!" Eijiro called, but his voice didn't reach Katsuki. Instead, he watched regretfully as the baseball player turned a corner and disappeared, followed by Yuga. "_Bakugo_..."

"Well, that was certainly an unexpected development," Tenya remarked. "But regardless, I appreciate you four seeing the error of your ways-"

"Hey, Four-Eyes," Denki interrupted, "zip it. We're not doing this to suck up to your ass."

"Wh-What?! Don't you _dare_ use that kind of foul language in the halls-"

"K-Kirishima!" Izuku exclaimed, tugging at the redhead's sleeve. "Wh-What were you gonna say about Hatsume?!"

"Huh?" Eijiro averted his gaze from the corner Katsuki rounded. "Wh-Wha...?"

"You were gonna say if you knew what classes Hatsume took."

"O-Oh..." Eijiro took one last look at the hallway before replying, "W-Well, I don't know where Hatsume's classes are, but I heard her saying something about Mustard before lunch ended."

Izuku's eyes widened. "You did?! What?!"

"Well, sh-she was talking a mile a minute, so I couldn't understand, like, ninety-five percent of it... The only thing I could make out was that she was gonna finish what we started. Whatever it takes, or some corny stuff like that." Then, Eijiro's eyes lit up. "Hey, maybe the others know!"

"The others?" Momo asked.

"Yeah, the members of the Hero Club!"

"The..._Hero Club_...?" Shoto finally asked.

"It's-It's something Midoriya and Hatsume came up with."

"Uh-huh..." Ochako replied with a cautious nod of her head.

"Hatsume came up with it all on her own," Izuku corrected quickly. "Come on, Kirishima, we gotta go find the others."

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, yeah, I know. I promised this chapter would be the last for this mini-story arc, but alas, I was proven wrong again. I just kept writing and writing until the chapter became too long and I had to split it. But without a doubt, the arc will be concluded in the next chapter. There will be no more dawdling from me! Once we're done with this, the Hero Club can finally be established properly!

On the plus side, we get to see some positive IzuMina and Kacchako interactions in this chapter! FINALLY! We're getting into the true meat of this fic! And it's only gonna get better from here, trust me! :D

Now then, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:

**-Whitetiger789:**

**1)** Well, I made Mustard the thief because he seemed like he was around the same age as the U.A. students. Therefore, it was only appropriate that I made him one of Izuku's schoolmates in addition to one of the "Villains" in this AU fic.

**2)** It's alright! Feel free to speak your mind and ask any questions you have on the story. I won't mind, and if I have to correct you on something, I will do so with the utmost respect. :)

**-MarvelNinja10:**

**1)** Heh heh heh. A Quirkless Toru Hagakure would never work unless I neglected to describe her physical characteristics. It's actually a unique challenge to me because I always tend to describe my characters' physical attributes. Giving Toru a voice and nothing else is quite extraordinary to me.

**2)** I'm glad you like how I'm shaping Kirishima's story arc in this AU! And get ready, because I have more to explore with his character. ;)

**-Raizen1125:** I'm glad I'm nailing the pacing! I tend to be instinctive with my writing without any regard to how any of the scenes might affect the pacing, despite all of my attempts to keep the chapter in check. It's good to know the story flows well in spite of that. :D

**-ThalioTP:** Thank you so much for your review! I'm so glad you love the premise behind this and how I'm presenting all of it so far. And don't worry! I have every intention of writing this till the very end, so keep up the anticipation for all the upcoming chapters! :D

**-****Tasia'sENDLESSDreams:**

**1)** I'm glad you like Izuku and Mei's relationship in this AU! I imagine Mei being Izuku's go-to inventor when he becomes a Pro Hero in the main canon, so I tried translating that personal fanon into this AU as much as I could. It looks like this idea paid off well!

**2)** Heh heh, yeah, I guess I'm teasing IzuMei more than just a little. Pink-haired girls definitely seem to be a theme with Izuku in this AU. I was actually neutral about that ship, but now that I think about it, I'm starting to enjoy it even more. :D :D :D

**3)** And now the OOC Kirishima will start to become a thing of the past. Wave goodbye!

**4)** Don't worry. Once this mini-arc is resolved, the slow burn will become a quick blaze! ;)

**5)** You're welcome. I'm happy to help a fellow writer. :)

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	12. Confrontation

**A/N:** I'm so sorry this chapter took so long for me to post, guys. This delay was all due to other commitments that I had both on this site, on other fanfic sites, and in real life.

If you've been following my profile, you'll realize that I've been hard at work trying to update my "Angel Beats!" fic, and I kept experiencing issues with going forward. I have been so focused on "My Hero Academia" and having lots of fun with coming up with a multitude of ideas for other fics (I'll explain those later) that I realized I have been neglecting my other fics. Because of that, I had to steel my resolve in order to update my "Angel Beats!" fic so it doesn't look like I forgot all about it.

In addition to that, I've been experimenting a little with Archive Of Our Own (AO3). For those of you who don't know, it's another fanfiction site, not too different from this one. I joined a couple of years back but haven't had the chance to fully try out. Until now, that is. Right now, I am simply cross-posting old fics that I have in my roster, but I could start cross-posting fics that are still ongoing.

And now I have to contend with the fall semester that's now upon me. Four classes, four days of the week, untold hours of homework and studying, zero joy. Oh, boy...

Anyway, about those fic ideas I mentioned...oh boy, I've got a trove of them! I know I said I was working on a crossover between "My Hero Academia" and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I know I also mentioned in Chapter 6 that another fic focused on Izuku and Class 1-B is currently in the works. To be perfectly honest, you guys, I'm juggling between them and a third idea (the details of which I can't divulge in case I really get invested in it as my next project), while I've got a whole bunch of other ideas bouncing around in my head, waiting to be unleashed in a blaze of perfect fanfiction glory. So yeah, I'm not kidding when I say I've been so focused on "My Hero Academia" and having fun with its fanfiction.

What do you think, guys? Do you think I should do an MHA/MCU crossover? A fic about Izuku and Class 1-B? Something else entirely different? Let me know in your review! But, of course, I'd appreciate it if you don't make your review solely about what you want to see from me next. I want to know your thoughts about this chapter too! Plus, this is not meant to be a poll. Maybe I might be inspired to pursue what a majority of you will tell me to do, but maybe I might not. I just want to get into your head-space a little, to see what direction I probably should take. :D :D :D

Okay, I think I'm done explaining all of this stuff. It's time to get on with this long-awaited chapter! ENJOY!

**P.S.:** Are you enjoying the fourth season of the MHA anime as much as I am so far?! I actually haven't been fully caught up on the anime yet, but I'm intent on following the fourth season regardless. :P I'm hearing good things about the Shie Hassaikai arc and hopefully won't be disappointed by what I see in animated form.

**P.P.S.: WARNING!** This chapter contains a graphic scene that might be a trigger to those who have dealt firsthand with people suffering from schizophrenia. It occurs somewhere in the middle of the chapter. Please proceed with caution if you wish to continue reading.

* * *

_While walking home, an eight-year-old girl somberly looked down at the tattered remains of her manga. During lunch, a group of bullies started picking on her for reading in the far corner of the cafeteria, and despite her attempts to stand up for herself, they were able to tear up her manga volume._

_She sighed sadly and tossed the book into the trash-can...which she noticed was next to a life-sized cardboard figure of someone. Intrigued, the young girl took a closer look and recognized the figure as that of Power Loader, a character in one of her top favorite anime, _Constructiborgs: Cyborg Builder Warriors_._

_"Wooooooow..." she breathed out in awe._

_Then, she noticed the storefront window behind the cardboard figure, which was displaying a variety of cosplay related to a multitude of anime. She immediately glued her face to the glass, admiring each and every costume in turn._

_A glint suddenly caught her eye, and she noticed the steampunk-style goggles on one of the costumes._

_The next day, she wore the goggles during lunchtime. When the same bullies tried to tear up her manga again, she was able to intimidate them into leaving her alone. As the days went by, she realized wearing the goggles granted her some kind of power that allowed her to stand up for herself._

_So, she continued wearing them every time during lunch. The girl and the object had become inseparable from then on._

* * *

"Okay, _why_ are you guys following us?" Hanta asked.

"Yeah," added Denki. "What's up with the squad you've got there, Midoriya?!"

Izuku, Eijiro, Mina, Denki, and Hanta stopped to look at Ochako, Tenya, Yui, Momo, and Shoto, all of whom were right on their trail. In fact, this was something they were persistently doing ever since they all left the classroom.

"We're all watching you closely," Tenya replied ominously, with his eyes narrowed into slits behind his shiny lenses. "That way, none of you will be able to do anything horrible to Midoriya."

"So don't even think about picking on him," added Ochako.

"Today's not the day you and your cronies get to relish on harassing others you believe are below you!" declared Momo.

Eijiro's eyes expanded slightly. "W-Wait, wh-what?!" he exclaimed before raising his hands. "Guys, guys, we're not here for that, okay?! You can trust us!"

"Look, I don't know about the others, guys!" Izuku cried. He rushed forward to clasp Tenya's and Momo's shoulders. "But Kirishima's alright, I swear!"

"Well, I know _he's_ a friend," Ochako said before glaring at Mina, Denki, and Hanta, "but I still don't trust you three!"

"Y-You don't _trust_ us?!" Denki exclaimed, looking absolutely insulted by Ochako's words.

"Yeah!"

"Whatever happened to Four-Eyes' mumbo-jumbo about us seeing the error of our ways?"

"Your current attitude and your continued use of that disrespectful nickname has made me doubt your stated intentions, Kaminari!" snapped Tenya with a pompous wave of his hand.

Denki rolled his eyes. "Blah, blah, blah! Gosh! So _wordy_!"

"Plus you just jumped into this without asking any questions!" Ochako cried. "I don't think you even know what is going on here!"

"_I_ don't know what's going on? I could say the same for you!"

"Yes, I do. Midoriya told me everything that happened between him and Hatsume, but he didn't tell _you_ anything. I think that's a good indicator of your level of trustworthiness."

Denki blinked. "Jeez Louise, girl! What the hell did we ever do to _you_?! Did one of us dump you or something?"

"Did one of you _dump_-?!" The chestnut-haired girl stopped herself before she could express her outrage, and she pressed her fingertips together for a moment. Then, she replied as calmly as she could, "It's...It's not a question of what you did to _me_, Kaminari. It is more of a question about your _character_. And that goes for all of you! Kirishima, Ashido, Sero, you have all been such terrible people to so many of my friends and classmates and just plain-out everyone else in school!"

"Specifically those who do not live up to Bakugo's idea of the 'in crowd'," Tenya added gravely.

"_Especially_ Midoriya!"

"Hey, hey!" Eijiro exclaimed as he stood between Denki and Tenya. "Can...Can we lower the temperature, you guys?" He looked from his friends to Ochako's group apprehensively. "Th-There's a place we need to be at, remember?"

"Well," Hanta replied, "it wouldn't be a problem if these guys didn't act so high and mighty-"

"I do not appreciate the tone you're using, Sero," Momo interrupted suddenly. "You and your group have a very troubling record of harassing and assaulting students. Many live in fear of you and are too afraid to defend themselves."

"And don't forget taking advantage of the culture of apathy on the part of the teachers to do whatever you want without consequences," added Tenya.

"Well, we've put all of that behind us!" Denki exclaimed.

"Just like that?"

This time, it was Shoto who spoke. A cold energy had suddenly filled the normally stoic boy, surprising everyone around him, even his friends. His eyes were narrowed to slits, and his pupils were piercing Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta in their stare that it made the hairs on their body stick upright.

"Y-Ye-_Yeah_..." replied a hesitant Hanta.

Shoto blinked slowly before looking at Izuku. "Look at Midoriya. Read his body language. He is clearly distrustful of your intentions."

"Okay, how the hell are we supposed to know that?" Denki asked in disbelief. "And how the hell are we even supposed to read _body language_?!"

"I didn't even know our _bodies_ had a language..." remarked Eijiro.

"Hey!" Hanta suddenly cried, his eyes now sparkling with an air of self-assigned genius. "We should invent our own body language!"

"Will you idiots just frigging _pay attention_?!"

Everyone's stares, especially Izuku's, turned towards Mina. She had stopped walking, and her fists were closed so tightly that it looked like it hurt. Her face was lowered, allowing her dyed hair to obscure her eyes. The rest of the group simply stood there, aghast at the sudden and uncharacteristic outburst.

"A..._Ashido_...?" Eijiro asked, his voice slow and careful.

"I know _you're_ taking this seriously, Kirishima," the ganguro said. "But what about _you_, Kaminari, Sero?"

"What the?!" Hanta cried, his voice almost cracking from his shock.

"O-Of _course_ we're taking-" began Denki.

"No, you're fucking not!" Mina snapped, silencing the blond boy. "You and Sero have been talking nonstop about it! Ever since the incident with those crooks weeks ago! Y-You guys gush about how Midoriya's moves were so awesome and-and how much you wanna learn about 'em! But..." She started to relax, and her fists started to unfold. "You guys never, _ever_ even thought about Midoriya's feelings..."

"What the hell are you talking about, Ashido?!"

"Look at him!" Mina pointed at a shocked Izuku. "He's _clearly_ uncomfortable having you guys with him on this!"

"You're one to talk!" exclaimed Hanta. "He's probably as uncomfortable about _you_ as he is with us, Ashido!"

The dark-skinned girl crossed her arms. "Well, if you two are gonna learn something from him, maybe the first step is for you to understand he has opinions of his own! And that you need to respect them _and_ him!" She took a cursory glance at Izuku's direction. "That's what his friends are trying to get at."

Tenya blinked with surprise at Mina. Then, he quickly cleared his throat and reverted back to his usual demeanor.

"Th-Thank you, Ashido," the class representative said, "for being respectful to Midoriya." He latched his hand on her right shoulder. "I admit, I did reserve some doubts about you as well, but now, I can see you have decided to atone your ways and take this seriously. I appreciate your effort and dedication-"

Mina suddenly tore away from his grip. "Get your hands off me!"

Tenya blinked with befuddlement. "E-_Excuse_ me?!"

But she didn't say anything any further. Instead, she resumed marching down the hallway. Everyone else watched her go for a moment before following after her. The awkwardness appeared to have been broken, for Ochako, Tenya, Yui, Momo, and Shoto walked beside Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta without protesting against their presence any further.

"Jeez," Hanta said under his breath, though Izuku could overhear him. "What's _her_ big deal?"

"Dunno," Denki whispered back. "Ashido's been acting strange lately..."

As for Izuku, he was just as shocked as his former bully. _"W-Wow... I...I didn't expect Ashido to speak up for me the way she did... I wonder why she's treating me so amicably all of a sudden. It...It can't be because I saved her."_

**_"S-S-S-St-St-Stop it... L-L-L-Le-Le-Lea-Leave him a-a-al-al-al-lo-lo-lone..."_**

_"She was willing to save _me _when I was fighting that man. But...But _why_? I-I didn't do anything to help her beforehand, unlike..."_

Izuku looked at Eijiro and noticed how absentminded the redhead looked. Then, he remembered his earlier confrontation with Katsuki and slowed down a little so Eijiro could catch up with him.

"Ki..._Kirishima_...?" he asked hesitantly.

"H-Huh?" Eijiro was brought back into reality, and he looked at Izuku. "Y-Yeah, Midoriya?"

"If...If you feel uncomfortable..."

_"God, I can't believe I'm _saying _this..."_ Izuku thought before pressing on.

"You should...g-g-go with Ka- I-I mean, B-Ba-Bakugo..."

Eijiro blinked twice before replying, "Ah, gee. I-I appreciate the gesture, Midoriya, but..." He gave him a halfhearted grin and jabbed a thumb at his chest. "I'm sticking with you on this till the very end. You saved my ass back then, and I gotta find a way to repay you."

"L-Look, th-there's no need to-"

"Hey, man." Eijiro's voice was determined and forceful. "For the past year, I treated you like absolute shit. But that didn't stop you from protecting me from those goons. It takes a whole new level of man to do that. And if I realize I'm not the man that I thought I was..." He hesitated briefly. "Then...it's _my_ responsibility to make up for everything that I did. And I can only do that by putting myself in your shoes."

"But...I can see you want to-"

"Ah, _screw_ baseball practice, Midoriya!" Eijiro's eyelid twitched, but he continued on. "There's always next year! But this thing we're doing, there's _no_ goin' back. If there's one last piece of the puzzle we have to put in place, then we'll look for it and solve it together. Besides..." He looked ahead with a distant smile. "Now I can see why you're always having your nose in manga."

Izuku blinked with surprise. "You...You _do_...?"

"Of course! You wanna be a manly man like those characters! Now, I don't know much about what you like to read, but I can't blame you if you're super-into it!" He looked at Izuku again. "Besides, we can help each other."

"Help...each _other_?"

"Well, ye-_yeah_! I mean, you can help me be the man I want to be but never was, while I can help you be the man you've always wanted to be!"

Izuku looked over his shoulder and realized Ochako and her friends were staring back at him, observing. Ochako looked surprised and even a little intimidated at Eijiro's friendliness, but nevertheless, she discreetly gave him a thumbs-up. As for the others, they were smiling proudly, but whether those smiles were directed at Eijiro or himself, Izuku didn't know.

"Look, man," Eijiro continued, attracting the smaller boy's attention again, "I understand if you're still a lil'...ohhh, what's the word again...?"

"Distrustful," Momo suggested.

"Mistrustful, yes!" Eijiro failed to notice Momo's face-palm. "I understand if you still feel that way about me. I...I honestly wouldn't blame you. But I swear, I'll do all I can to prove myself to you! I'm not asking for anything in return, Midoriya. I wanna do it! No tricks, no nothing!" Then, he looked at Denki and Hanta. "Oh, and don't worry about Kaminari and Sero. I'll take care of 'em if they're gonna continue to be problems for us."

"I-It's okay, Kirishima!" Izuku replied with a nervous chuckle. "You...You don't _really_ have to-"

Eijiro's attention was suddenly diverted. "Oh, hey Shoda!"

At that moment, Izuku realized he and his group had just approached the other members of Mei's club. Nirengeki, Paula, Manzo, and Toru were congregated around the doorway of a classroom, which appeared to be closed.

"Mi-_Midoriya_?" Nirengeki asked. "Ki-Kirishima? What're you guys doing here?" Then, he looked over Izuku's shoulder and noticed the others, prompting a bead of nervous sweat to break out on his forehead. "W-Why'd you bring you friends, Ki-Kirishima...?"

"Don't mind us, everyone," Tenya announced with a raised hand. "We're here for Hatsume."

"H-H-Ha-_Hatsume_?" Toru asked while she retreated behind Paula.

"Well, get in line," said Manzo. "We haven't seen her since lunch."

"You _haven't_?" Izuku asked, surprised.

"Yep. We've been waiting for her for _minutes_."

"Doesn't sound too bad," Ochako remarked. "She's probably late."

"She's _never_ late to any club meetings," replied Nirengeki.

"Perhaps today is an exception-" began Tenya.

"Nope," Paula interrupted. "When it comes to this club, there is _never_ an exception for Hatsume."

"Speaking of which," said Manzo, "have _you_ seen her, Midoriya?"

"N-No," the green-haired boy replied, still reeling with confusion. "N-Not really... Not since lunch-"

"Hey, guys," interrupted Eijiro, "I heard her mention something about wanting to finish what we started. That was at the cafeteria. Any idea on what that could mean?"

"Who the hell knows?" Manzo asked. "Hatsume says nonsensical stuff like that every day."

"Finish what you guys started?" Ochako questioned with confusion.

"Y-Ye-Yeah..." stuttered Toru.

"What _did_ you guys start?" Hanta asked.

"An investigation into Minoru Mineta's arrest for stolen girls' underwear," Tenya replied formally.

"Oh, _yeeeaaahhh_!" exclaimed Denki. "I heard 'bout that! Lucky bastard-"

"Hey!" Momo snapped. "I heard that! And _this_ is why we still don't trust you!"

"W-Well," Nirengeki said, "w-we hit a dead end on that, r-remember, Midoriya?"

"Y-_Yeah_..." replied Izuku. Then, all of a sudden, something reentered his memory.

**_"Okay, you know what, Hatsume?! If _you're_ so freaking convinced of Mineta's innocence, then why don't you investigate all by yourself?! You, you've got that Hero fighting spirit! You've got your-your inner Yamikumo! Why don't you do it?!"_**

"Oh, no..."

Everyone looked at Izuku.

"What do you mean 'oh, no'?" Eijiro asked.

"I...I told Hatsume to keep trying to prove Mineta's innocence..." the green-haired boy replied.

"You _did_?" Manzo asked.

"Yeah...b-but I was irritated...a-and angry...and I just wanted to get her off my back..."

"Knowing her," said Paula, "she's definitely doing that right now."

"And that puts her on a crossroads with Mustard," Nirengeki added with realization.

"_Mustard_?" Hanta asked. "You mean that guy who was suspended for having some of Mineta's stash?"

"Yeah. If she still thinks Mineta's innocent, then Mustard is her first person to go to."

"Yaoyorozu?" a voice suddenly asked. Everyone looked behind their shoulders and saw...

"Oh!" Momo replied with a smile. "Gr-Greetings, Shiozaki!"

The serene-looking girl walked up to their group, flanked by two members of her Bible Club. In an instant, Izuku and the others noticed the concerned expression on Ibara's face.

"Is something wrong, Shiozaki?" Tenya asked.

"My friends and I just spotted a boy trespassing on the school grounds," Ibara replied. "We just wanted to inform you all to be on the lookout."

The class representative blinked. "A boy trespassing?"

Ibara nodded. "I recognize him as the boy the school suspended earlier for his involvement in Minoru Mineta's crime."

"You mean Mustard?" Izuku asked.

The Christian Japanese girl looked at him with confusion. "I do not remember his actual name, nor any nickname that he is using...but I would assume so. He has hair as gray as the Devil's bones."

"Yep, that's him, alright," Eijiro responded.

"Why would he come back here?" Shoto asked. "He'll get himself in further trouble if he's caught."

"Whatever his intention is," replied Tenya, "we'll get to the bottom of it once we find him. Unwelcome students pose a big risk to order in this school, even if it's after-hours, and it should be our responsibility as diligent students to prevent him from causing any trouble."

"As usual, Four-Eyes has to be a controlling know-it-all..." Denki remarked bitterly, only to be intimidated by a glare from the class representative in question.

"Shiozaki," Momo said, "do you remember where you saw this boy?"

"He was headed for the locker rooms," replied Ibara.

"Oh, Shiozaki!" one of Ibara's friends cried. "Don't forget that girl!"

"Girl?" Izuku asked, a sense of dread filling him. "What girl?"

"Oh, yes," Ibara said with a small nod. "This boy was being followed by a girl who was...not being so discreet about it. I believe her name was Hatsume."

Izuku's blood immediately ran cold at the response.

* * *

**_"Okay, you know what, Hatsume?! If _you're_ so freaking convinced of Mineta's innocence, then why don't you investigate all by yourself?! You, you've got that Hero fighting spirit! You've got your-your inner Yamikumo! Why don't you do it?!"_**

_**"The Hero Club is stupid."**_

**_"Because I was actually being _smart_ about it, unlike a certain someone who treated all of it like a game."_**

_**"Then go have fun without me. I'm done playing your stupid, childish game, Hatsume. I am **_**not**_** a Hero, and you are **_**not**_** my Sidekick. We're supposed to be **_**ordinary**_** people. But I guess you're too crazy to realize that."**_

_**"You heard me, Hatsume! You're crazy! You're a crazy, crazy girl and a defenseless otaku!"**_

"Stupid Midoriya... You understand a thing... Me, crazy? HA! At least _I'm_ not the one in denial here! At least _I'm_ fucking honest with myself! ...Stupid Midoriya..."

Mei sniffled and wiped her eyes as she stepped out of the school building and onto the track field. She was able to see it for a couple of seconds before her vision suddenly became blurry again. With an irritated growl, she wiped her eyes with her elbow, but realized the tears would not stop coming.

"Ah, darn it..." Then, something in Mei's mind snapped like a twig. "DARN IT!"

With all of her might, Mei kicked a small rock that was beside her foot, causing it to skip across the ground until it finally came to an uneventful stop near the track field. Then, with a quivering lower lip, she leaned against the wall and buried her face in her palms, allowing her sobs to take a hold of her. The normally hyperactive, excitable, eccentric female otaku slid down on the ground, reduced to a sobbing mess.

_"Goddamn it! Goddamn it, Midoriya! How the hell were you able to make me feel this way?! ...Why the hell do you make me feel like this?!"_

Mei clutched her head as she felt certain memories invading her mind. She immediately responded with her usual coping devices.

**_"B_****_elieve me, no matter what anyone says, being different is a good thing."_**

_"Being different is a good thing. Being different is a good thing. Being different is a good thing."_

* * *

_"WOOOOOW!"_

_The five-year-old Mei's eyes shone and sparkled as she watched a pair of enormous robots engage each other in an epic clash within her television screen. Inside the chassis of the robots, the human pilots shouted at each other valiantly, both laying bare the essence of their hearts._

_"Do you not understand, Nakamura?!" the pilot of the red robot cried. "The Cube won't purge evil from this world! There is nothing that can defeat evil itself! And it will most certainly not bring back your wife and daughter!"_

_"Shut up, Midorikawa!" the black robot's pilot snapped. "How could you bear to live in a world where pain and suffering is a way of life?! Why must you willingly restrain yourself to the confines of the natural world?! Is it not our duty as Knights to protect this world from the forces that bedevil it?!"_

_Mei didn't understand much of the intricate dialogue, but it didn't matter. The colorful fights and flashy moves made it up to her in spades. She looked up at her mother, whose lap she was sitting on, and smiled at her. The woman smiled back._

_"Mommy?" Mei asked._

_"Yes, Mei-chan?" the woman replied._

_"Why did Daddy leave?"_

_"Because he couldn't understand me. I was different."_

_Mei blinked and tilted her head. "But I understand you just fine, Mommy."_

_"Then...that means you're different too."_

_"I'm different?"_

_"Yes, sweetie." The woman smiled. "And believe me, no matter what anyone says, being different is a good thing."_

_"Being different is a good thing..." Mei repeated softly._

_"That's right!" Then, Mei's mother raised her head and gasped with awe. "Ooh, look at the robots, Mei-chan!"_

_Mei looked back at the TV screen and gasped with delight. For the next few hours, the mother and daughter indulged in the anime marathon. It did not matter what kind of anime they were watching. As long as she was with her mother, Mei always had fun._

* * *

The otaku girl nodded to herself._ "__That's right. __Being different is a good thing."_

Mei smiled determinedly and stood up on her feet. The slightly manic look had returned to her yellow contact lenses, and the female otaku stared ahead at the track field.

_"Screw you, Midoriya!"_ she thought. _"I'm gonna solve this crime, and I'm gonna prove to you that you're just being a KJ! HAHAHA!"_

She started walking, or rather _skipping_, towards the locker rooms. However, she only got a couple of feet when she saw someone emerging from the bushes near the perimeter fence. He had a familiar mat of bone-gray hair.

"_Mustard_?" she whispered. "Now then, what're _you_ doing here when you're supposed to be suspended?"

The otaku girl watched as Mustard approached the door to the boys' locker room, his path calculated and purposeful. He clutched the doorknob, turned it a little...and then forced the door open with ease, allowing him to gain easy access. Mei felt her intrigue shoot up through the roof, as if it hadn't already.

_"Oooooh!"_ she thought. Her lips curled into a giddy smile as she procured her steampunk goggles from the side pocket of her backpack and put them over her eyes. _"Now things just got _interesting_!"_

Without a single ounce of hesitation, Mei started walking towards the boys' locker room. Once she approached the open doorway, she stuck her head inside and saw Mustard conspicuously disappearing between two rows of lockers. Running her tongue across her lips, Mei tiptoed inside the room and peeked her head out from behind one of the lockers.

To her surprise, she saw Mustard cutting a small section of the wall open with a silver utility knife.

"Well, well, well," Mei whispered to herself, "someone's being a bad boy today..."

She watched Mustard carefully place the knife on the floor and removed the section of the wall he cut up. Much to Mei's surprise, he was able to remove it with ease, like had recently been placed there. Like lifting a curtain, Mustard revealed a set of black wires, embedded within the wall like a foreign worm. The gray-haired boy started pulling them out quickly, looking as if his life depended on it.

Then, what Mei saw next made her gasp...a little too loudly for her own comfort. Mustard twirled around and spotted her in an instant.

"W-What the hell?!" he cried. Then, his eyes narrowed in recognition. "_You_! You're the one with the teddy bear panties!"

Mei grinned manically again and pointed a finger at him. "HA! Caught ya! You ain't getting suspended on this one!"

Mustard didn't waste any time. He picked up the utility knife and charged at her as fast as he could. Mei tried to make a run for it, but she managed to get an inch out of the doorway when Mustard grabbed her by the strap of her goggles. He angrily tugged at the goggles with all of his strength, quickly snapping the strap in half and causing the goggles to fall to the floor.

"MY GOGGLES!" Mei cried, suddenly stricken with anguish.

Then, Mustard grabbed her by the shirt and violently yanked her back inside the locker room. He closed the door behind him all the way with a resounding bang.

* * *

_"Please be alright, please be alright, please be alright..."_

"Midoriya! Wait up!"

"Why're you running, man?!"

"Hey, slow down!"

Izuku didn't have an answer for that. Instead, he allowed instinct to guide his body as he dashed out of the building and towards the locker rooms. Once he approached the doorway to the boys' locker room, he spotted something familiar on the ground.

"No..." he moaned. "No, no, no..."

"What're we doing here again, Midoriya?!" Manzo cried as he and most of the others caught up to Izuku.

All of a sudden, Toru gasped with horror and pointed at the ground before Izuku's feet. "Is...Is _that_...?"

Izuku bent down and picked up Mei's goggles. Everyone saw the strap, which had been snapped in half. Upon seeing the damage done to them, his eyes widened with horror.

_"No..."_ he thought.

Then, everyone heard a yelp of pain coming from inside the locker room, followed by indiscernible shouting.

* * *

Mei yelped upon being slammed against the wall. She collapsed to the floor and looked up at Mustard, who was wearing an expression that bordered fury and panic.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?!" he snapped, flecks of spit flying out of his mouth.

"I am here to catch you red-handed, Villain!" Mei replied while flashing him a triumphant grin. "And it looks like I caught ya with your hand in the cookie jar!"

Mustard's eyes widened even further in dread. "FUCK!" He clutched his head with his unoccupied hand. "Damn it, damn it, damn it, I should've never come back here! I should've waited till the suspension was over! Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Mei cackled. "Just admit it, Villain! You're _finished_! Once the principal sees what you've got in that-"

"SHUT UP!" Mustard aimed his utility knife threateningly at Mei. "You're not gonna tell or reveal jack-shit!"

Mei was about to retort when the glint of the blade caught her attention. Her yellow pupils gravitated towards its razor-sharp metal, as if they were hypnotized. Before she could control herself, a certain memory began to leak back into the forefront of her mind...

* * *

_"AGH!"_

_A five-year-old Mei was violently slammed into the wall. As the young girl began to weep, she slowly looked up...only to see a glass bottle hurtling towards her._

_"EEK!"_

_She ducked just in time to avoid the bottle. It shattered against the wall, showering the helpless girl with tiny shards of crystal glass. Then, she fearfully looked up at the towering figure roaring at her, like a monster._

_"YOU DEVIL!" the monster screeched. "YOU HELLISH SPAWN! YOU WON'T GET THE BEST OF ME, I SWEAR YOU WON'T!"_

_"MOMMY!" Mei cried back through her tears. "I don't understand! What's wrong?!"_

_The woman roared like an animal at her, her once-beautiful face conquered by an expression that was a mix of complete rage and indescribable anguish. It was an expression Mei never saw before, even when her father had to deal with what he said were Mommy's panic attacks. Then, she left for the kitchen...only to return wielding a kitchen knife._

_"I WILL CUT OUT YOUR FOUL TONGUE, DEMON!"_

_Mei screamed as the woman ambled towards her..._

* * *

Mei's scream was what prompted Izuku to act. With the hairs on his forearms sticking up, the boy tried opening the door using the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge.

"Oh, my God!" Paula cried, her hands clasping her mouth as she and the others listened to Mei's screaming. "Wh-What's happening in there?!"

Izuku tried turning the doorknob again, but was met with the same result. "GODDAMN IT!" he cried uncharacteristically, his voice even cracking.

"Okay, stand back, Midoriya!" Eijiro cried. The green-haired adolescent did so, allowing the redhead to start slamming his body against the door. Realizing what he was trying to do, Izuku joined in.

"W-Wa-Wait a minute, y-you two!" Tenya shouted with a raised palm. The class representative looked both terrified and confused. "L-Let me find th-the groundskeeper-"

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME, IIDA!" Izuku interrupted as he slammed his shoulder into the door again.

When the door still refused to open, Shoto approached the two boys, a faint hint of concern dashing his normally neutral expression. He cleared his throat, catching their attention.

"Stand back," he said. "Allow me."

Izuku and Eijiro reluctantly acquiesced, allowing Shoto to walk up to the door and take a cursory glance at the doorknob. Then, he took a deep breath...and delivered a single, powerful kick near the knob. It was enough to force the door open, and Izuku immediately dashed inside.

The first thing he saw was a confused Mustard towering over a cowering, wailing Mei, utility knife in hand.

"ILL-ILLEGAL WEAPON!"

Izuku felt his heart stop beating as Tenya dashed past him and tackled Mustard to the floor. The gray-haired boy growled angrily and punched his attacker in the face, stunning him momentarily. Split-seconds later, Eijiro and Nirengeki dashed forward to pin Mustard's arms to the floor. When Mustard's legs began flailing, Shoto and Denki pinned those as well. An outraged yell came from Mustard's mouth as he continued resisting.

"QUIT IT, MAN!" Eijiro barked. "IT'S OVER!"

"FUCK YOU, KIRISHIMA!" snapped Mustard. "I AIN'T GOING DOWN FOR THIS!"

"Agh, damn!" Denki exclaimed as he struggled to keep Mustard's leg in place. "He won't let up!"

"I-I'll go get s-some tape..." Hanta suggested before departing in a rush.

Meanwhile, Izuku quickly attended to Mei, who was now curled up in a fetal position.

"Hatsume!" he cried. "Hatsume, are you okay?!"

The moment he touched her shoulder, he received a punch to the face, strong enough to knock him to the floor.

"Midoriya!" Mina and Ochako both shouted in concern.

Through his blurring vision, Izuku could see Mei running towards the bathroom as fast as she could. Ignoring the pain on his cheek, he stood up and followed her.

* * *

_Mei made a run for it, just in time to avoid getting stabbed by her own mother. She ran up the stairs, crying and hearing her mother crying and wailing pathetically._

_"COME BACK HERE! COME BACK, YOU DEMON! I WILL NOT BE DISGRACED BY THE LIKES OF YOU!"_

_Another glass object was hurled at her, missing her by a couple of inches and shattering in front of her. However, in her desperation to get away, she stepped on one of the glass shards._

_"AGH!" Mei squealed._

_She fell to the floor and gazed at her bloodied sole. Then, she looked up and saw her mother advancing towards her, the bestial expression still infecting her features. There was no maternal concern at all, not even a subtle glimmer in the two wide, whitening shells of eyes._

_"MOMMY!" Mei cried again._

_But there was no stopping the woman. She lunged at her with the knife, forcing the girl to scramble away to avoid being stabbed. Then, the woman yowled like a wounded dog and collapsed to the floor, shards now protruding from her soles. Using all of the energy she had left, Mei got up on her feet and limped as fast as she could to her room, leaving behind a trail of blood._

_"_Mei_?" a voice whimpered behind her. "Mei?!"_

_But Mei was too frightened to stop and respond to her mother. She made it to her room and closed the door behind her with a resounding bang. Once she locked it, she retreated to a corner and covered her eyes. Taken with grief and blinded by the pain in her feet, she wept and ignored the frenetic banging and eldritch shrieking._

_"MEI?! MEI! _MEI_!"_

* * *

"Mei?! Mei! _Mei_!"

Izuku reached the doorway of the bathroom and easily saw Mei's legs in one of the stalls. Then, he heard her weeping.

"M-_Mei_...?" he asked beseechingly. When all he got was more weeping, he glared at Mustard. "What'd you do to her?!"

"Nothing, goddamn it!" the gray-haired boy snarled. "I just pointed a knife at her and she lost it, like the crazy bitch she is- AGH!"

"Hey!" Tenya snapped sternly. "You frightened her with a weapon! Anyone would react the same way. Now quit struggling and accept your present circumstances!"

"Hey, guys?" Momo called. "There's a hole to the girls' locker room in this wall...and there's a _camera_ lying over here!"

She picked it up and showed it to the others, allowing Izuku to recognize it as a spy camera. Upon putting two and two together, Tenya glared at Mustard.

"So, you've been spying on the girls in the locker room?!" he cried. "How shameful of you! Your deviancy is comparable to that of Mineta! And to think everyone thought you were an innocent bystander caught up in that pervert's underwear-stealing scheme!"

Something within Mustard seemed to have snapped. "Oh, really? My deviancy is comparable to Mineta's? _My_ deviancy?! HA! HAHAHAHAHA!" He sneered proudly. "You retard. I stole the underwear too."

"You are a-" Tenya paused for a moment. "Wait, _what_?"

"Heh heh heh, yeah, that's goddamn right! Not only have I been spying on all of _you_ lovely little ladies in the lockers and recording every last precious second-" Mustard shot a lascivious grin at Mina, Ochako, Yui, Momo, Paula, and Toru, most of whom recoiled in disgust and horror. "But _I_ was the one who stole all that underwear a few days ago! Me, and no one else!"

"You and...no one else...?" Shoto repeated, confused.

"Wait, I don't get it," Denki said, an eyebrow arched with perplexity. "What's Mineta's role in this, then?"

"He didn't have a role, you dumbass, except for that of the fall guy!" Pride filled Mustard's face as he started to pour his heart out, clearly relishing in the fact. "And everyone fell for it, hook, line, and sinker! Including all of you fucking idiots!"

"So..." Nirengeki said slowly, "so you're saying...Mineta was _innocent_ all along...?"

"Hell, yeah!" exclaimed Mustard. "And if it weren't for that stupid little otaku girl, I would've gotten away with it too! My whole plan to get off to your girls was ingenious!"

Izuku felt as if the entire world stopped revolving. _"I...I don't believe it... I...I was right..."_

"I can't believe it..." Tenya breathed out with disbelief. "I...I cannot _believe_ it... You..." He narrowed his eyes. "You are a despicable, horrendous, insidious human being! No, you're subhuman!"

"And proud of it."

"And proud of-?!" Tenya's eyelid twitched. "You..._truly_ have no shame..."

"Well, the cat's out of the bag, anyway. It doesn't matter." He made a sideways glance towards the girls again. "At least I have all of your bodies memorized now."

Mina suddenly jerked forward with a horrendous cry, her arms outstretched. Reacting just as quickly, Ochako and Momo sprung forth to hold her back.

"YOU FUCKING MONSTER!" the ganguro screamed shrilly. Her normally captivating eyes were wide and bloodshot. "YOU-YOU FUCKING- I'M GONNA KILL YOU, I'M GONNA **KILL** YOU!"

"No, Ashido!" Momo cried while tugging with all of her strength. "Y-You're gonna get expelled if you assault him!"

Mina resisted angrily, prompting Paula and Toru to join in. Meanwhile, Mustard started laughing maniacally, and the boys holding him down had to contain their own urges in retaliating. As for Izuku, he watched on with a mixture of horror and validation.

_"Mineta was right..."_ he thought. _"He _didn't _do it... And Hatsume proved it... Hatsume..."_

_**"You heard me, Hatsume! You're crazy! You're a crazy, crazy girl and a defenseless otaku!"**_

Izuku took a deep breath and glanced back at the stall Mei was hiding in. He could still hear her soft weeping, and every time he heard her hiccup with grief, the boy could feel a stab of pain in his heart.

He took a step forward.

"Mei?"

The weeping didn't stop. Izuku hesitated.

_"Think, Izuku. Think, think, _think_. She's clearly traumatized. Whatever she's re-experiencing, it will be hard to bring her out of her shell now...unless it's something she's really comfortable with. It's the very thing she retreated to every time things got scary for her. What would it be...?"_

But the answer was already obvious to him. He cleared his throat...and after some quick deliberation, he spoke again.

"Gadget Master?"

Izuku heard her crying ease into a soft whimpering. _"Great! She's listening!"_

"It's Yamikumo." He smiled gently and slowly approached the door to the stall. "We caught the Villain. You did it, Gadget Master. Your trap worked." He stopped. "You can come out now. It's over."

He heard her fidgeting nervously inside, but otherwise, there was nothing to indicate she was acquiescing. However, the whimpering seemed to have stopped.

_"She's not convinced,"_ he thought. _"But I'm close. I just need to guide her a little further..."_

Then, Izuku remembered something...and he put on the boldest, most heroic smile he could muster.

"It's okay, Gadget Master. You're safe now. You know why? Because _I_ am here."

A few seconds passed. Then, he heard Mei standing up, which was followed by the stall door opening up slowly. Izuku's eyes widened upon seeing the otaku girl: she had removed her yellow contact lenses, revealing sapphire-blue pupils.

"Please don't talk to me like that, Midoriya..." she said in a broken voice. "I'm...I'm _not_ crazy, you know."

_**"You heard me, Hatsume! You're crazy! You're a crazy, crazy girl and a defenseless otaku!"**_

_"Oh, no!"_ Izuku thought, perturbed. _"That wasn't the way to go about this! How am I gonna make it up to her?! How am I gonna...?"_

Then, the boy remembered something important.

**_"You have to understand that Hatsume loves what she does. Watching anime and reading manga are her hobbies- no, they're a whole lot more than hobbies, they're essential components to her life! Sure, she may get a lil' carried away, but that does NOT give you the right to call her crazy or anything else like that. In fact, it makes things even worse in your case, because if anyone knows what it feels to be called those names, it's _you_, Midoriya.""_**

_"Uraraka's right... In fact, she's more than right..."_

Then, Izuku said gently, "No...you're _not_ crazy. Anime and manga are just things you seek out whenever times are very tough for you."

"Very tough?!" Mei's eyes widened with outrage. "_Very tough_?!" She shoved Izuku away. "You...You don't know _anything_ about me! So don't pretend that you do!"

"I'm not pretending about anything, Hatsume! It's just...just..." Izuku lowered his head. "Yes, you're right, Hatsume. I...I don't know what exactly happened to you, or what is happening in your life right now, but I...I know how you feel about _them_, Hatsume. Anime and manga. I'm sure they mean everything to you because they provide you with an escape from your present circumstances. I understand completely because I...I feel the same way..."

He clenched his fists as he continued, "I hated reality, I hated being me, and watching anime and reading manga helped assure me that there are worlds where I truly belong...even if they are contained behind a television screen or within the pages of a comic book. Thinking about all these worlds were the closest thing to them being real, but of course that was never enough for me. No, I needed more than just thoughts. I wanted to fulfill the true purpose of anime and manga: to escape this reality...only, I wanted a literal escape, not a figurative one." Izuku relaxed his fists. "That is why I strove for many unrealistic goals, such as becoming a real-life superhero.

"You wanted to do the same thing, didn't you, Hatsume? Escape this reality? That is why you changed your appearance, your mannerisms, your outlook on life...you became a different person. One who looked like she came straight out of an anime or the pages of a manga. I get that. In fact..." He chuckled with slight realization. "I'm...I'm a little _jealous_ of you, Hatsume."

"J-_Jealous_...?" Mei asked, astounded.

"Y-_Yeah_..." Izuku scratched his cheek. "You've...You've done what I always wanted to do: be someone who felt like they mattered. You...You were able to do it, and on top of that, you didn't _care_ about what others thought of you. As for me, I've tried for so long to do something to change my reality, yet I always find myself back in the place where I started. It didn't help that I had so many people holding me back, putting me down, dismissing my dreams as being childish... And I guess that's why I snapped at you back then. I couldn't handle how successful you were at being this other person."

"_No_," replied Mei, "you were worried about us getting in over our heads with Hero Club."

"That's what I thought at first, Hatsume, but..."

**_"I know you wanna embrace your otaku side again, Midoriya! I can feel it!"_**

"You were right. I was using the Hero Club as an excuse to live out my dream of being a...a real Hero. Like Yamikumo. I may not have known it then, but I know it now..." Suddenly, Izuku chuckled again, feeling as if some unbearable weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "It...It feels good to be so honest with myself..."

"I'm glad you're feeling better..." Mei deadpanned while looking away glumly.

Izuku's face softened again. "Hatsume, what I'm trying to say is...I should _never_ have called you crazy. It was wrong of me to say that. I'm so, so sorry I said that. You're _not_ crazy, Hatsume. You never were. You're just different."

Mei suddenly looked at him with awe, her brain reeling. Suddenly, Izuku's words triggered a memory she didn't know she had.

* * *

_"How are you, Mommy?"_

_"I'm fine..." A small, infinitesimal cough echoed in the room. "Thank you, Mei-chan..."_

_A six-year-old Mei watched as her mother ambled towards her and sat down in the chair next to hers. Both could feel the judgmental stares of the nurses and Mei's grandparents. Though she was still young, the woman's face was already very wrinkled and her once-glazed eyes looked strangely lifeless. A year may have passed since her involuntary confinement, but Mei felt as if ten years had passed instead._

_"So..." Mei said awkwardly, "was it really true, Mommy...?"_

_"What's true?" the woman replied._

_"That Daddy left because of you...?"_

_The woman hesitated for a moment before saying, "Yes, honey..."_

_"And that you're...__"_

_Mei hesitated, prompting her mother to reply, __"Yes, Mei-chan. I'm...I'm crazy..."_

_The girl sniffled and held back her tears._

_"Daddy couldn't handle taking care of me anymore," the woman continued. "That's why he left... I...I don't know why he didn't take you with him." An alarming glint suddenly passed through her eyes. "He was probably a weak little coward."_

_The nurse noticed her personality shift, and his arm twitched in preparation. However, everyone relaxed once the woman settled down again, a serene smile gracing her features._

_"Mei-chan?" she asked._

_Mei lifted her face as tears started to drip from her eyes. "Yeah, Mommy...?"_

_"It doesn't matter what anyone says, or what has happened between us. You have to remember this, sweetie: no matter what, you've always been different."_

_"Different?" Mei felt a pang of worry inside her, and she squirmed slightly. "Like...Like _you_...?"_

_"No, no, not like me! How can you be different if you're just like someone else, even Mommy...?" The woman shook her head. "Mei-chan, what I'm trying to say is...you've always been different, and I loved you for that. And I'm asking you to continue being yourself. No matter what."_

_"But..." The girl looked down at the dirty tiled floor. "Isn't it a bad thing to be different...?"_

_"No. No, it's _not_..." Her mother suddenly hugged her, and Mei could feel the comfort of her warmth. "Being different is a good thing, Mei-chan. Don't you _ever_ forget that."_

_"Being different is a good thing..." repeated Mei.  
_

_The woman smiled happily, perhaps for the first time in ages. "That's right, honey." Then, she broke the hug and smiled even more widely at her. "Now then, what kind of anime have you been watching lately?"_

* * *

"And being different is a good thing..." Mei recited.

Izuku blinked with confusion, but he replied, "Yeah. Being different is a good thing." He took a deep breath. "Hatsume..."

Mei focused on him again. "Y-Yeah, Midoriya...?"

"You were the first person who believed my theory that Mineta was innocent. And...And you kept believing in me, e-even when everyone else stopped believing me... Even when I stopped believing myself..." He gritted his teeth in anger. "You showed me compassion and friendliness, even if you had your own way of going about it.

"But...But all I did...to show my appreciation was...to _shun_ you and call you _crazy_. Me, calling you crazy! How pathetic of me. How selfish of me. I...I thought I was just trying to be normal. Instead, I was just being stupid...and in denial..." He clenched his fists again. "I should've never, _ever_ said that to you..._especially_ 'cause I, of _all people_, should've known how it feels to be made fun of like that."

"Midoriya..." Mei replied with shimmering eyes.

Izuku closed his own eyes and bowed his head. His unruly green hair hung like a rag, gleaming in the dim, gloomy light of the bathroom.

"I know I hurt you, Hatsume," he continued, "and I know I touched something raw in your heart that can't heal so easily, but...can you forgive me?"

"For..._Forgive_ you...?" Mei repeated.

"I want to be your friend, Hatsume. We both share something in common, something that is precious to us. I don't think I've ever met anyone who's understood how I feel till now. I-I want to be in the presence of someone who understands. I want to learn how to take control of the reality around you and make it your own." Then, Izuku sniffled. "But...if...i-if you don't want to, then it's-"

"You..." Mei's low voice was filled with shock. "You want to be my...my _friend_...?"

Izuku lifted his head and gave her a kind, gentle smile. "I want to, Hatsume. I want us to hang out and talk about anime and manga. I want us to do all sorts of things together. And, most of all, I want to understand you, just as much as you understood me." He placed a hand over his chest. "I mean it with all my heart."

"You..." Tears suddenly started to drip from Mei's eyes. "You want to be my...my friend..."

_"Uh-oh,"_ Izuku thought. The green-haired boy started to sweat nervously. _"D-Did I touch a nerve again?"_

Just then, Mei propelled herself at him...and nearly tackled him in a hug as the bathroom was filled with her wails.

"No one's ever wanted to be my friend before!" she cried between sobs. "Not even Shoda and everyone else in the club!" She hiccuped awkwardly. "You're...You're the only one who actually asked, straight up! The only one in my entire life! It's so weird, but...but I don't think I've felt like this before!"

Izuku was initially stunned and even embarrassed by Mei's tight embrace. He could feel his shoulder blades being stained by the tears dripping from her face. Then, as soon as he heard her admission, he settled down and returned the hug.

"It's okay, Hatsume," he replied soothingly. "It's okay."

"Thank you so much, Midoriya! Thank you so much! I..."

Izuku could hear the smile forming on the girl's slips, and he knew what was coming next.

"I do! I forgive you!"

"You do?"

"Yes! I wanna be friends too, Midoriya! I...I wanna be the bestest of friends!"

He smiled fondly. "Okay then, Hatsume. Let's be friends. We can help each other."

"Thank you, Midoriya! Thank you for understanding!"

"H-Hey. It's what Heroes do best, am I right?"

As Mei continued to wail in happiness, Izuku felt a presence in the doorway of the bathroom. He turned his head and saw Ochako, Tenya, Eijiro, Nirengeki, and Momo standing there, observing with respectful silence and approving grins. Mina, Denki, Hanta, Manzo, and Paula were peering over the others' shoulders, all trying their best to take a look at what was unfolding inside the bathroom.

Ochako nodded happily, and Izuku nodded back with a thankful smile. Then, he resumed hugging Mei, her joyous crying a strange but welcome melody in his ears.

* * *

**A/N:** And this marks the conclusion of this chapter, as well as the little story arc about proving Mineta's innocence! Now that Izuku and Mei have made amends and officially started their friendship, this means good things for the Hero Club! ;)

Also, this officially marks the first chapter in this fic that is not completely shown through Izuku's viewpoint! This was an interesting change of style for me, since I obviously spent the past eleven chapters exploring Izuku's head-space. But of course, this fic isn't just about Izuku, in case you guys didn't notice, and I had to branch out to other characters at some point. Now that Izuku is becoming more and more familiar with the people around him, and the true Hero Club is finally about to get started, we will be learning more about the AU versions of the characters we all know and love. And believe me, we are about to see more compelling backstories like Mei's. In a couple of chapters, this fic's direction will undergo a change in course, and this is the point of no return (for the better).

Now, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:

**-TheBlackDagger456:**

**1)** Thank you so much for loving the IzuMina development! I know it's not much so far, but I promise you, we'll get there once the true meat of the fic gets underway.

**2)** Well, Kacchako will be a secondary focus in the second half of the fic. As for how it's going to play out, well...let's just say everyone in this AU is going to have some form of character development down the road. **P.S.:** Just because certain aspects of the fic that have been advertised in the summary aren't being fully fleshed yet doesn't mean you should lose all hope just yet. ;)

**-Raizen1125:**

**1)** I'm glad you're getting pumped up at the same time as this fic. Trust me, I am too. XD XD XD

**2)** Wow, I'm glad you like the transitions! I honestly don't pay too much attention to those; I just do whatever seems to be natural in letting the chapter flow. I guess that's what they feel so organic to you.

**3)** Well, there are two reasons behind the lack of descriptions for the school. One: you downright nailed it in your review. It's pretty clear we're still at the school, so any descriptions beyond the basics seems pretty redundant to me. Two: I am actually implementing the stuff I learned from a creative writing course at college, which all boils down to keeping details to a minimum and including them only when it's necessary. It's why I focus a lot on Izuku's thoughts too; an omniscient third-person narrator (a point-of-view I tended to use in previous works) can get really mechanical and leave the author detached from his or her work.

**4)** YAY! Us students do not have to toil in the murky waters of their academic suffering alone! :D

**-Red Riot (guest reviewer):**

**1)** Hey, looks like there's a Kirishima fan in the review box!

**2)** Is that all you have to say for your review? Please, next time you review, I want specifics. What did you like about the chapter? What did you not like? Any comments or beliefs that I should know about? Any questions? Please, I'd like to be in the loop about these things so I can keep improving the story into something you love reading.

**-Mr. Albatross (guest reviewer):**

**1)** I had to Google "Sturgeon's Law" in order to understand it, but thank you for the comment!

**2)** Great character analyses for Izuku and Mei! Well done! And it looks like you were a little on point with the latter if this chapter is anything to go by. As for Izuku, his situation is about to get more complicated for him as he eases up with how he views a life of normalcy and re-embraces his otaku side.

**3)** Yes, I have. In fact, I believe I mentioned it as one of the influences for this fic in the first chapter. Believe me, you'll be seeing more "Fight Club" references in the next couple of chapters too. ;)

**4)** I actually don't find Bakugo that hard to write. I've always pegged him as a guy who is using his aggressiveness and arrogance to cover up insecurities. Deep down, he can't afford to be proven wrong or put back in his place. Now that he's been stripped of his Quirk in this AU, all he has to supplement his self-worth is his popularity, which he can lose a whole lot more easily compared to a superpower. As of now, he is in a pretty..._interesting_ position, I'll say... ;)

**5)** Continue I shall! Hope you enjoy! :D

**-negativeGinger:** I'm really sorry you're not enjoying this fic because of that. But have you read any further? I do start to make the Bakusquad's characterizations more canon-accurate, especially with Kirishima. I also left a disclaimer at the start of the first chapter saying the OOC behavior will last only for the first few chapters.

**-Gomizia:**

**1)** Thanks for leaving behind the multiple reviews! I hope the binge-reading was worth it. :D

**2)** I'm glad you're catching on to Mineta's innocence despite his usual reputation, both inside and outside the canon.

**3)** Yes, yes, **YES**! I absolutely LOVE writing Mei Hatsume! She's quite a character, isn't she? Her ditzy, crazy personality is so easy and fun to write, and I especially love having her interact with Izuku!

**4)** Yeah, I know I seem to be pushing for IzuMei right now, but trust me, their relationship will simply be a platonic one. IzuMina is what I advertised and I'm not backing out of it now.

**5)** As you can see, there was a part of Mustard that Izuku and his friends have completely overlooked. The fact that Mei decided to continue snooping around proved to be Mustard's downfall in the end, though.

**6)** Izuku was just trying to break the tension before it could escalate, that's all. XD

**-xnickyx123:**

**1)** Is that all you have to say for your review? Please, next time you review, I want specifics. What did you like about the chapter? What did you not like? Any comments or beliefs that I should know about? Any questions? Please, I'd like to be in the loop about these things so I can keep improving the story into something you love reading.

**2)** Also, don't beg me to update. Hopefully as you've read in the beginning of the chapter, life put up so many roadblocks for me at the time. I don't expect that to change anytime soon, either. I need you to be patient with me on this, please.

Don't forget to share your feedback on what kind of "My Hero Academia" project you want me to pursue next, everyone!

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!


	13. The Hero Club

**A/N:** Once again, I will have to apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I had to contend with projects and finals on top of trying to write for my other fics. But fortunately, after quite a fight, I'm finished with the semester, everyone! And that means I can devote the entirety of my focus on my fics and have tons of fun writing! HOORAY!

Anyway, in the last chapter, I asked all of you what you guys wanted me to pursue for my next MHA project. The choices were a crossover between "My Hero Academia" and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a fic focused on Izuku and Class 1-B, and a third project whose details I did not want to disclose in case I got interested in that. Of the four people who chose to leave their two cents (I'm not judging any reviewers who didn't cast a vote, though; it's cool!), it's a tie between the MHA/MCU crossover and the Izuku/Class 1-B fic. Perhaps I should've left some specific details on what the third project should've been if I was hoping it would get at least one vote, but it doesn't matter right now. Remember, this was never meant to be a poll. I just wanted to get into your head-space a little and see what direction I probably should take.

Now that enough time has passed for me, and I have seen the results, I just wanted to say that I'm 90-95 percent sure I know what I want to do for my next MHA project. I know there's some pretty strong enthusiasm towards the MHA/MCU crossover, but I am afraid to say I've settled on the Izuku/Class 1-B fic. This is simply because I've already written more content and done more world-building for that fic (quite a lot, in fact) compared to the MHA/MCU crossover.

Now that doesn't mean I won't be doing that crossover; it's just that I need more time to figure out that fic. All I have to show for it right now are some disjointed scenes and perhaps just a portion of the beginning I wanted for it. But for now, the Izuku/Class 1-B fic is where my interest lies, and I cannot imagine that changing at the moment, especially given it's supposed to be a bit of an ambitious project; I won't lie about that. But I guess we will see about the MHA/MCU fic a few months into my Class 1-B fic, depending on how much the readers enjoy reading it, and how much I enjoy writing it.

Anyway, in other news, I'm pleased to say we are officially halfway done with this fic. The first half of this fic will come to a close with this chapter, and after that, we'll be getting ourselves into the _true_ meat of the story! ANOTHER HOORAY! :D :D :D

Okay, I think I'm done with this exposition. It's time to proceed with this long-awaited chapter! ENJOY!

**P.S.:** Having watched the ninth episode of Season 4 while writing this, I must say, KiriMina got elevated higher in my list of favorite MHA shippings. Not that this will affect the pairings of this fic, of course; I'm way above false advertising. But maybe this'll be something I will keep in consideration when thinking about what to write next for this fandom... ;) ;) ;)

**P.P.S.:** The scene of Eijiro watching Mina confront Gigantomachia in the same episode reminded me of the scene where Izuku stood by and watched the girl in the alleyway get assaulted. I didn't even know about that scene with Eijiro. It was honestly pretty crazy seeing that in action.

* * *

**_"Help! Help me! Someone, please! Help me!"_**

**_"Calling for help won't do ya any good. As you can see, no one gives a damn."_**

**_"Why didn't you help me? You were there..."_**

**_"Hey, thanks for the help back there! We owe you!"_**

_**"I hate it when people pick on others who they think are defenseless. ...I also hate it when other people don't do something about it."**_

**_"NO! I'M NOT LETTING YOU GET AWAY, VILLAIN! I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH YOUR CRIMES!"_**

**_"ACK! AAAAAAACK! AGH! AGH! St-_Stop_... Let... Lemme...go... Ack!"_**

**_"NEVER! YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO THAT GIRL YESTERDAY! YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HER!"_**

**_"Thank you, Midoriya...for caring about me..."_**

Izuku opened his green eyes with a soft gasp. At first, his mind didn't process his surroundings, but after a few seconds of contemplation, he realized he was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. With a sigh and a tired groan, he sat up and rubbed his eyelids.

_"I can't believe it's been three days..."_ he thought.

Then, once that memory returned to the forefront of his mind, Izuku lowered his hands to his lap and stared down at his outstretched palms.

* * *

_"Hey there, Midoriya..."_

_As Detective Nishiya scribbled something on his notepad, Izuku looked over his shoulder and saw..._

_"Ha-_Hatsume_?"_

_But it seemed like he wasn't looking at Mei Hatsume. The Mei Hatsume he knew would be overly energetic and eccentric, with a myriad of skewed priorities that mostly related to her hobbies. Right now, it was like he was staring at her timid, more subdued identical twin. Nevertheless, Izuku overcame the strangeness of this new Mei and gave her a friendly grin._

_"Mm-hm," Mei replied while slowly nodding her head. "Did...Did you finish giving your statement?"_

_"Y-Yeah." Izuku took one last look at Nishiya, who nodded at him, allowing the boy to join his newfound friend. "S-So, w-what do you need?"_

_The two teenagers began walking across the track field of the school, which was currently swarmed with additional police officers. At the corners of his eyes, Izuku could see Ochako, Eijiro, their friends, and the rest of the Manga & Anime Club giving their own statements to officers._

_"I...I just wanted to thank you..." Mei said. "F-For saving me back there."_

_"This is the fifth or sixth time you've thanked me for something, Hatsume. Please, don't mention it."_

_"We-Well, y-you're the first person who didn't pretend to care about me. I-I owe you that much! A-Also..."_

_Her voice trailed off, prompting Izuku to ask, "_Also_...?"_

_Mei hesitated for a moment before saying, "L-Look, I-I know you're not th-the _biggest_ fan of th-the Hero Club, b-but...I-I think what we just did today was awesome and cool and good for the school and I-I wanted to-"_

_"You wanna keep the Hero Club going?" Izuku completed with realization._

_Mei nodded. "And, you know...since we're friends...I-I thought we could-"_

_"Hatsume...you...you nearly had a _breakdown_ back there. Do you _really_ still think it's safe for you to be doing things like this on a regular basis?"_

_"Not if you and the others are with me! Plus, you admitted back in the locker room that this is something you've always wanted to do, all along! To be a real Hero, like Yamikumo!"_

_"I wasn't lying about that, Hatsume." Izuku warily looked over his shoulder to see if any officers were eavesdropping on their conversation. "It's something I wanna do, deep down inside...but I am also very aware of how dangerous it can be. We can dream all we like, but reality always has a way of ruining our dreams. We need to accept that."_

_"I've accepted it, Midoriya! Which is why I think...the Hero Club should have rules."_

_Izuku stopped walking._ _"_Rules_?"_

_"Y-Yeah. Rules. Stuff to keep the members in line."_

_"I..." Izuku lowered his head. "I dunno..."_

_"Midoriya, you know Mustard's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this town. You know it, I know it, everyone in the Manga & Anime Club knows it...hell, _everyone_ in this school knows it. Look at what we've done today, Midoriya!" She gestured around the track field. "Mineta was innocent this whole time, and Mustard would've gotten away with it if it was not for us! The police may say that they tried their best, but in reality, they did diddly-squat! And thanks to us, in just a few minutes, Mineta's gonna learn someone believed in him! Imagine that, Midoriya. Imagine the look on his face when he realizes you believed him and never stopped believing him."_

_Izuku raised his head, and as he did,__ the defeated expression on Minoru's face returned to his mind._

**_"Midoriya, give it up. You're just overthinking this whole thing. Just imagine the headline for tomorrow. 'Class Pervert Expelled for Stealing Girls' Underwear'. Don't ya think it's got a better catch than 'Class Pervert Framed by Conspiracy in Girls' Underwear-Stealing Scheme'?"_**

_"Lo-Look, I'm not gonna try and force you again, Midoriya," Mei said earnestly. "You're my friend now, and whatever you decide to do, I'll support it, hands down. But you have to take some time to think about it. J-Just think. If we, a bunch of kids, were able to crack this case wide open when the cops gave up so easily, then think about all the stuff we could do to help this town."_

_Izuku looked down at his feet, immersing himself in his thoughts. He could hear Mei turning on her heel and leaving, but as she left, she imparted eight last words._

_"Just think of what we could do, Midoriya."_

* * *

**_"Just think of what we could do, Midoriya."_**

_"It's been three days,"_ Izuku thought.

At that moment, he remembered the headline of the newspaper he saw at the convenience store weeks ago, before the whole debacle with Mustard, before the incident with the girl in the alleyway...before everything...

_**OUTSMARTED! POLICE RELEASE SUSPECTED YAKUZA MEMBERS**_

Izuku took a deep breath before standing up from his bed and stretching his arms like he was flexing them, perhaps the first time he ever did so. As he did, he could feel the vague impressions of the wounds he sustained from his fateful fight with the muscular man. He looked at himself in the mirror a few times after recovering from that fight and realized they were probably going to scar over.

At that thought, Izuku stopped stretching and lowered his arms with a concerned frown. His eyes instinctively gravitated towards his Yamikumo cosplay, which was hanging from the open door of his closet. He remembered how good it actually felt, living out his dream in spite of the reality of his circumstances...

_"Hatsume's right. We did something when the police couldn't. We...We actually did it...and now I'm expecting myself to just sit back, be a normal kid, and pretend nothing's happening? How can I?! Everyone knows something's happening in this town! Uraraka and her friends know it, Hatsume and her club know it...even Kirishima has some idea of what's truly going on! And yet..."_

All of a sudden, Shimura's words returned to Izuku's memory.

**_"Life's not fair, Midoriya-kun. It's unpredictable, a series of random occurrences. No matter how much mankind tries to control it, life somehow finds a way to make their efforts blow up in their faces. It has always been this way and it always will be. Sometimes things go your way, other times they don't. You never know."_**

Then, Izuku narrowed his viridescent eyes with defiance. _"You're right, Shimura-san. Life's not fair. Sometimes things go your way, other times they don't. Which is why..."_

Without a second thought, the boy ran over to his desk, opened a drawer, produced a notebook, and began scribbling in it. His hand was now a blur, while his pupils darted from one side to the other and back rapidly.

_"I'm sorry, Shimura-san, but...this is not gonna go _your_ way! If life's unpredictable, then there's a chance this town can get better! And _I'm_ gonna lead the charge to see it through, because no one else will! Fear not, Shimura-san!"_

He stood up, marched over to his window, and drew the blinds open, bathing his bedroom with bright morning sunlight.

_"For the Hero Club is here!"_

A couple of seconds later, he winced from the overabundance of light and closed the blinds, sparing his green eyes from any further assault.

"Yeah, it's too bright outside..." he mumbled.

* * *

Izuku stepped into the cafeteria.

It no longer felt like entering a foreign country to the viridescent boy. Students still filled the tables to the brim, chatting animatedly with each other and fully indulging themselves in today's gossip. There was no table in sight that didn't have at least four students sitting by it. A strange but surprisingly pleasant combination of multiple fragrances hung in the air. The clean floor gleamed freshly and spectacularly from the bright sunlight entering through the windows.

He scanned the tables situated closest to him, one by one. First, there was the table hosting the boys' basketball team, which included the foul-mouthed Yosetsu Awase, the calm and collected Sen Kaibara, and the approachable chatterbox Kosei Tsuburaba. Then, there was the table hosting the Literature Club, led by the massive but eloquent Jurota Shishida. Finally, there was the table hosting the seniors, including the popular Mirio Togata and Nejire Hado.

Then, the most foreign thing happened. As soon as Izuku entered, silence slowly took over the cafeteria, and everyone's heads turned towards him, one by one. Not a single word was spoken in response to his presence. He felt his skin crawl at the massive amount of attention that had suddenly been placed upon him.

Awkwardly, Izuku walked over to the nearest unoccupied table and sat down. Once he did, he heard all of the whispering break out amongst the students.

"Hey, look, you guys."

"Yeah, it's Midoriya..."

"Man, so _that's_ the guy, huh?"

"Yeah, it's him..."

"Guess looks can be deceiving."

"Wait a minute, is it _really_ true that he and his friends-"

Izuku did not get to hear the rest of that last whisper, for the green-haired boy became focused on the notebook and pen that he procured from his backpack. He opened up the notebook and began scribbling in it for a few moments. Just then, he was interrupted by a palm that slammed itself on the table, right in front of his face. After recovering from his shock, he looked up and saw-

"Iida?!"

The look in the class representative's eyes was stern and judgmental as usual, but Izuku could make out the faint traces of an approving smile in the corners of his lips. Without saying a word, the bespectacled boy pointed his chin down at the table. Izuku looked down and saw a newspaper right under Tenya's palm. He quickly recognized it as the unofficial school newspaper produced by Mirio Togata's Journalism Club.

"Read it, Midoriya," a voice said.

Izuku looked up and saw Ochako sitting down on the opposite side of the table, joined by Tenya and, to his surprise, the rest of the group that participated in Mustard's capture: Yui, Momo, Shoto, Eijiro, Denki, Hanta, Nirengeki, Toru, Paula, and Manzo. The only ones who were missing were Mei and Mina. Izuku was puzzled by the presence of groups with such different likes, dislikes, and hobbies. Nevertheless, he acquiesced, took the newspaper, and read the front page.

"Hero students...catch true underwear thief?!"

"Mm-hm!" Ochako replied, nodding her head vigorously.

"Everyone's read that already!" Eijiro exclaimed with a jagged grin. "They know all about what we did!"

Out of curiosity, Izuku continued reading the article. "At the end of last week, a group of students continued investigating what seemed like an open-and-shut case about a pantie thief. What their amateur sleuthing found was even greater than the school administration could've imagined. Thanks to their efforts, the student who had been previously accused of last week's daring break-in and theft at the girls' locker room, Minoru Mineta, has been exonerated of any wrongdoing, while the real thief, whose name is being withheld by the police due to the sensitivity of their investigation, has been expelled from school and arrested for breaking-and-entering, theft, and video voyeurism. Authorities assure the student body that there is no longer a threat on campus."

"Neat, huh?" Denki asked, flashing a grin at the boy.

"Man, I felt like such a _badass_..." Hanta commented. "In fact, I still feel like a badass!"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Paula. "You guys should've seen me when I first arrived at school today! Everyone was looking at me, whispering their ears, and even asking me questions! I've never been the center of so much attention before!"

"Yeah, same here!" Manzo cried excitedly.

"R-Re-_Really_?" Toru stuttered meekly from behind Paula. "N-N-No one s-se-seemed t-t-to n-no-notice me..."

"Well, that's 'cause you're such a quiet lil' mouse, that's why, Hagakure!"

Everyone looked over their shoulders and saw, much to their surprise...

"_Hatsume_?" Izuku asked incredulously.

Indeed, it was Mei Hatsume. And yet, when he gazed at her, Izuku couldn't help but feel there was something completely different about her. But he couldn't figure out what, exactly. Her salmon-pink hair was still dyed and styled the same way as before. She still had that overly enthusiastic, semi-manic grin plastered on her face. Her sapphire-blue eyes were still wide and sloped a little upwards-

"Hatsume!" Izuku cried with realization. "Your...Your contact lenses-"

"What about 'em?!" Mei said in her usual loud, boisterous voice.

"Y-You're not _wearing_ 'em-" began Nirengeki, who also caught on to the subtle difference.

"Whaddaya mean I'm not wearing 'em? My eyes have always been like this!" Then, Mei noticed the newspaper in Izuku's hands. "Ooh, whatcha got over here?! Gimme, gimme!"

She snatched the newspaper from Izuku's hands, nearly tearing it in half in the process, before reading the front page. A few seconds passed before a familiar glint passed through her new sapphire-blue eyes.

"I think we did well, guys," she said.

"We...Did _well_?" Nirengeki repeated, perplexed. "Are...Are you _alright_, Hatsume?"

Mei saluted. "Never been better!"

However, Izuku continued staring at Mei incredulously. _"Hatsume's still acting like her usual self,"_ he thought. _"There's no doubt about that. And yet, she's a little..._calmer_ than usual. And there's her eyes. She's definitely abandoned the contact lenses... Could it be because of...?"_

He then remembered their exchange in the bathroom last week.

**_"No one's ever wanted to be my friend before! Not even Shoda and everyone else in the club! You're...You're the only one who actually asked, straight up! The only one in my entire life! It's so weird, but...but I don't think I've felt like this before!"_**

_**"Okay then, Hatsume. Let's be friends. We can help each other."**_

Izuku smiled happily at Mei and her..._slightly_ improved mannerisms, just as Tenya spoke up.

"It's good to see you're holding up fine, Hatsume. You certainly seemed traumatized by last week's events."

Mei looked at the bespectacled boy with a semi-manic smile. "Well, what can I say?!" she exclaimed. "No one takes down the Gadget Master without a fight!"

"Th-The Gadget Ma...?" Then, the confused Tenya shook his head and reached into his pocket. "L-Listen, Hatsume...your role in apprehending that sexual deviant was extremely vital for the police investigation. If it wasn't for your persistence, your courage, and your, well, _unconventional_ personality, then perhaps Minoru Mineta would have lived a terrible future... Goodness, I still can't believe I'm saying that- Ack!" Tenya clutched his elbow. "Hey!"

"Be a little nicer, Iida," Ochako remarked as she lowered her elbow.

"S-Sorry. Well, ahem, because of that, I have taken the liberty of coming up with a...most gracious reward for your effort and perseverance in this matter."

"Ooh, ooh!" Mei gushed, her sapphire-blue eyes lighting up. "Does that mean you'll accept my apology for tinkering with your cool samurai costume?!"

Tenya's eyes widened with outrage. "Wh-What?! Heavens, no! You still sullied such a valuable icon of hist- OW! Uraraka!"

"I told you to be nicer, Iida," Ochako remarked as she lowered her elbow again. "She _was_ sorry, after all."

"Agh, fine..." The class representative looked at Mei and, with great effort and a strained voice, said, "Alright, I...I accept your apo-"

"You're welcome!" Mei interrupted.

"Y-You're _welcome_?! I didn't even _thank_ you for anything-"

"Does that mean I can borrow your samurai suit whenever I feel like it?!"

"NO! Absolutely NOT! That suit is off-limits, Hatsume! You've done _enough_ with- Alright, alright, Uraraka, I get it, I'll get to the point!"

"Good," Ochako replied as she lowered her elbow once again.

Tenya sighed before reaching into his back pocket. "Hatsume, accepting your apology was not what I had in mind when I mentioned a reward-"

"Ooh, you wanna kiss me on the cheek?" interrupted Mei, interest seeping into her face.

"Yes." Then, the boy's eyes enlarged. "Wait, _what_?! No! Absolutely NOT! Wh-Where'd _that_ come from?!"

Mei shrugged nonchalantly. "I dunno. You're like a tsundere, Iida. All tsunderes wanna kiss their male protagonists when they're defrosted."

"I am not a tsundere, Hatsume! thank you very much! And you're not a male protagonist! You-You're not even the right gender, n-no offense! C-Can I just explain what my reward is without interruptions, please?!"

"Sure, sure..."

Tenya sighed heavily before producing a familiar pair of goggles and showing it to the otaku girl. Mei stared at them for a brief moment before gasping and covering her mouth. Izuku looked at them and recognized them as Mei's signature pair, though the strap, which had been snapped in half the last time he saw them, had been taped back together.

"Midoriya found this outside the boys' locker room and lent them to me..." Tenya explained. For the first time since Izuku became friends with him, there was a sheepish tone in his voice. "You seemed to forget about them following that whole incident with Mustard, but I didn't. S-So..."

His voice trailed off, prompting Mei to say with realization, "You _fixed_ it?"

Tenya held out the goggles. "You always wear these to school, so I assumed you treasured them. Consider this a sign of thanks from me for your assistance-"

Izuku and the others watched as Mei nearly tackled Tenya to the floor...while _kissing_ him. Straight on the lips.

Izuku simply watched the scene unfold, unsure of what was going on. Ochako and Momo stared at Tenya and Mei, totally stunned by the latter's confident response. Shoto and Yui both also stared, though their expressions remained neutral, as always. Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta couldn't help but feel jealous at how the bespectacled boy they once considered to be a pompous nerd was already getting some action before them.

Nirengeki was blinking rapidly, as if he thought he was dreaming and was trying hard to wake himself up. Manzo's lower jaw was hanging open as he gawked incredulously at Mei's brazen show of confidence. Paula was probably the only one who showed a positive reaction to the scene, covering her mouth with a gasp as her blue eyes glittered with wonder. As for Toru, she peered from behind Paula's shoulder, examining every inch and detail of the kiss.

At the corner of his eye, Izuku could see several other students in the cafeteria watching, either flabbergasted or amused by the turn of events.

_"Oh, man,"_ he thought. _"I wouldn't wanna be Iida right now..."_

After about a minute of being in this position, Tenya was able to forcefully pry Mei off of him, tearing her lips away from his. He started hacking, sputtering, and spitting at the floor in shock while the others continued to watch, flabbergasted.

"Wow, man," said Eijiro. "That was...actually pretty smooth of you right there."

"Wh-Wh-_What_?!" Tenya snapped. Then, he glared at Mei, who was smiling unusually happily. "YOU! You made that move without any consent from me!"

"So?" Mei asked obliviously.

"S-_So_? Th-That is considered sexual assault!"

"What're you talking about, man?" Denki asked, frowning jealously. "You're frigging lucky you've got a hot girl slobberin' all over you! Plus, it looked like you enjoyed it a little."

"I'm _very_ worried about your perception of gender roles, Kaminari!" Tenya started spitting again, continuing to feel Mei's saliva in his mouth. "Ugh! I gotta go to a bathroom and wash all this off!"

Before Ochako could stop him, Tenya ran off, still trying to wipe his mouth. She watched him go in genuine shock for just a brief moment, before finally recovering and looking at Izuku.

"I'm-I'm sorry about that, Midoriya-kun!" she cried. "I'll-I'll go check on him!"

With that, the chestnut-haired girl ran off. Yui, Shoto, and Momo watched her go as well before following their friend, one by one. Once Izuku, Eijiro, Denki, Hanta, and the Manga & Anime Club were left alone, Mei abruptly started laughing and slapping her thighs with disbelief. The others stared at her incredulously.

"Wow!" the otaku girl cried as soon as she recovered from her cackling. "That sure worked like a charm!"

"Wait, _what_?" Izuku asked. "You're...You're saying you kissed Iida...just to get him to _leave_?!"

"That's right!"

"B-But what about him fixing your-"

"Well, I _am_ grateful to him for that..." She fondly looked down at her taped-up goggles for a couple of seconds. "But I'm not _that_ grateful! See, if he stayed for any longer, Midoriya, then he'd _definitely_ be all over our business. And there's no way we can let that happen, especially considering what your response is gonna be!"

"W-Wait a minute, _response_?" Nirengeki asked.

"Whaddaya mean by 'response'...?" Manzo asked hesitantly.

Mei winked craftily at the two boys. "Ohhhhhhh, just you wait and see!" Then, she looked at Izuku again. "So, Midoriya, d'you have a response for me or what?"

"Ooh, ooh!" Paula cried, her eyes sparkling with realization. "Are you two dating?!"

"WH-WHA-_WHAT_?!" Izuku squealed, his face as red as a tomato.

"Nope!" Mei replied calmly, her eccentric grin still in place. "See, I have something _bigger_ planned, something that I have consulted with Midoriya about, but I'm gonna need his approval to proceed first! So..." She looked into Izuku's eyes with overflowing intrigue. "What's your response, Midoriya?"

To the surprise of everyone else, Izuku nodded...and smiled, triggering a giddy squeal from Mei.

"YES!" Then, the otaku girl lowered her voice while warily looking around the cafeteria. "Sorry, guys, but this needs to be kept hush-hush here!" She put on her signature goggles, momentarily surprised by how strong yet flexible the tape was. "Come follow us, you guys, and we'll show you what's up!"

With that, she grabbed the student newspaper and started walking away, prompting the others to look at Izuku.

"She said 'we', Midoriya," Paula remarked. "Not 'I'..."

"D'you guys have something planned?" Toru asked.

Izuku smiled ambiguously at them while tucking his notebook under his armpit. "Only the best..."

* * *

"Well, well, well, judging by this newspaper, I'd say...not bad for the Hero Club's first day! Not bad at all!"

Izuku, Mei, and the rest of their group, Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta included, all entered the Manga & Anime Club's meeting place. They could hear many students still loitering around in the hallway, but the sounds were cut off the moment Paula closed the door behind them.

"Wait a minute," Manzo said. "First _day_?"

"Yep!" Mei rolled up the student newspaper that she still had and started whipping it around like it was a pointer. "But it's quite a disappointment that the paper did not mention our name! We need to do better in that regard, everyone!"

"Wait, we're still _doing_ this Hero Club shtick?" asked Nirengeki.

Mei nodded her head vigorously. "Mm-hm! Consider last week's events...our _debut_!"

"Debut, huh?" Denki asked with a smile. "Well, that sounds exciting!"

As for Hanta, he raised his hand, catching Mei's attention.

"You!" the pink-haired girl cried, pointing at him with the rolled-up newspaper. "Plain-faced guy with the weird teeth!"

"Pl-Plain face?" Hanta repeated, momentarily flabbergasted by the description before quickly moving on. "W-Well, uhhhh, Ka-Kaminari and I talked to Kirishima about it, a-and...w-well, we're interested in joining this Hero Club."

"You wanna _join_?" Nirengeki asked incredulously. "_Why_?"

"W-Well, we think what we did was pretty awesome and badass and, w-well...b-_badass_, and we want in on whatever you guys have planned next!"

"Plus you guys _are_ the Manga & Anime Club!" Denki added. "You guys are into stuff like that, right?"

"W-Well, y-_yeah_, but-" Manzo began before being silenced by Mei's wagging index finger.

"Hold on a minute, you two!" she cried, staring deeply into the boys' eyes. "Do you have a sponsor?!"

"A...A _sponsor_?" asked Hanta.

"Why the hell do we _need_ a sponsor?!" Denki exclaimed. "We helped you guys catch Mustard!"

"That's how Red Riot joined us!" Mei replied.

"Red Riot? Who the hell's _Red Riot_?"

"That'd be me," Eijiro replied, pointing at himself with this thumb. "Oh, and by the way, I don't think I remember joining the Hero Club _that_ way-"

"Nope!" interrupted Mei with a cheeky smile. "Midoriya gave you his approval!"

"I-I _did_?" Izuku asked, confused.

"Yep! In your own words..." Mei cleared her throat before putting on her best Izuku voice. "Okay, Kirishima. You lead us to Mustard."

"Oh, _yeah_," replied Manzo. "Midoriya _did_ say that earlier."

"That was a good impression, by the way," Paula commented.

"Mm-hm, mm-hm!" Toru vocalized in agreement.

"Okay, then," Hanta said. "How do we get ourselves a sponsor?"

"A current member of the Hero Club must vouch for you!" said Mei.

"A...A current member, huh?"

"Well, that should be easy!" cried Denki. Then, he clasped his hand on Eijiro's shoulder. "Yo, Kirishima! Buddy! You mind vouching for me and Sero?!"

"Sure!" Eijiro replied brightly.

"Sweet!"

"Alright, then!" Mei exclaimed. "Since Red Riot's agreed to be your sponsor, that means you two are in!"

"Double-sweet!"

With that, Denki and Hanta exchanged a high-five before Mei spoke again.

"But first, you two need Hero names!"

"Say what now?" Hanta asked, his exuberant smile fading in an instant.

"How're you supposed to help people if you guys don't have code-names to protect your identity?!"

"Huh," Denki replied. "Sounds fair, I guess. So, what're _your_ code-names, guys?"

"The name's Gadget Master! And tinkering is _my_ game!"

"It really isn't," Nirengeki replied with a disapproving shake of his head. "O-Oh, I'm Mines, by the way."

"And I'm Comicman!" Manzo cried proudly.

"Sweet!" Denki replied. Then, he looked at the girls. "How 'bout you? I betcha your code-names are super-hot-"

"I'm Pony," deadpanned Paula.

"That doesn't sound sexy at all..."

"A-An-And I-I'm I-In-vi-vi-vis-si-sib-b-b-" Toru stuttered severely.

"She's Invisible Girl," Paula said, stepping in for her mostly unseen friend.

"Invisible Girl, huh...?" Denki asked.

The blond boy suddenly stared spacing out, which Paula was quick to notice.

"Don't even _think_ about undressing Hagakure in your mind, Kaminari!"

"I-I'm not! I'm-I'm trying to think of a cool code-name!"

"Given your track record with girls," Manzo said, "I doubt it." Then, he suddenly crossed his arms. "Listen, just because you're one of the fastest runners in the baseball team, it doesn't mean you can-"

An excited grin suddenly broke out on Denki's face. "That's it! I'll be Chargebolt!"

"Chargebolt?" repeated Nirengeki.

"Yeah, it's Chargebolt 'cause I'm the fastest runner in the baseball team-"

"And you survived eating a bunch of bolts on that dare last month!" Hanta completed. "Dude, that's such a cool name! I really like it!"

"Thanks, man!"

"You _ate_ bolts last month...?" Manzo deadpanned.

Denki ignored him and looked at Hanta with interest. "What about you, Sero? Didja decide on your Hero name?"

"Honestly, I...I don't know what I should call myself..." Hanta replied. He looked at Mei for guidance. "Yo, does that mean I can't join the Hero Club anymore?"

"Ah, don't sweat it!" Mei cried with a dismissive motion of her hand. "I'll come up with a name for you!"

"Y-You _will_? Oh, thank goodness for you!"

"Why, thank you! Now, let's see... Hmmmm..." Mei started thoughtfully tapping her chin with her index finger. "Well, you _were_ the one who got the tape that we used to restrain Mustard. We would not have been able to keep him in one place without it."

Hanta sheepishly scratched his cheek while blushing. "Ah gee, thanks..."

After a minute of self-deliberation, Mei lightly hit her palm with her clenched fist. "Ah, I got it! You'll be Cellophane!"

"Cell..._Cellophane_?"

"You mean the stuff they use to package food in boxes?" Denki asked.

"I don't even think that can be considered _tape_, Hatsume..." deadpanned Manzo.

"Well, _Our Hero Academia_ has a guy with a tape Quirk who goes by Cellophane!" Mei cried defensively. "To be honest, he looks a lil' like you, Sero!"

"Re-_Really_?" Hanta asked.

"Ohhhhhh, yeah!" Izuku suddenly exclaimed. His freckled face was now wearing a grin that stretched from ear to ear. "I remember Cellophane! You _do_ look like him, Sero!"

"Really, huh? Maybe I should start reading your stuff, Midoriya..."

"Yeah, you definitely should! I think you'll like Cellophane, Sero! It's a shame Shimura-" Izuku suddenly remembered. "I-I mean, Yagi-sensei keeps him relegated to the background a lot."

Hanta crossed his arms. "Sounds disrespectful, if ya ask me."

"Alright, then!" Mei suddenly cried with a proud, almost haughty smile. "Now that this is all settled, I hereby declare you official members of...the Hero Club!" With the newspaper, she patted Denki's shoulders, one by one, followed by Hanta's, much to their confusion. "Welcome to our establishment, Chargebolt and Cellophane!" Then, she gave a sideways glance at the still-rolled-up paper. "Oh, excuse me! I wish I had an actual sword for this kinda thing, but the school would give me the boot before you could say 'uncle', so-"

"Wait a minute!" Hanta cried, his eyes now bulging with concern. "You could've used a _sword_ on us?!"

However, the rest of the Manga & Anime Club didn't look too worried by Mei's expression. In fact, they looked somewhat amused by Denki and Hanta's reactions.

"Ah, don't mind her, Sero," Nirengeki said. "Hatsume says stuff like that all the time."

"You'll get used to it," added Paula.

"Alrighty, then!" Mei cried while casually tossing the newspaper away and clapping her hands together. "Now that we've inducted you two into the Hero Club, let's get our first official club meeting underway! But before we begin, does anyone have any questions?! Yes, Tsunotori?!"

Paula lowered her hand. "I-I didn't know this was gonna be a long-term thing-"

"Well, you thought wrong!"

"_Why_?" Manzo asked hesitantly. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed what we did, but...what _exactly_ is this Hero Club gonna do now?"

"Well," Izuku suddenly replied, "we do what we did before. Help people and stop criminals. Anonymously, of course."

"Criminals? Midoriya, not everyone in this school is gonna be like Mustard-"

"I'm not talking about criminals in school like Mustard. I'm talking about criminals...in _general_."

Manzo blinked rapidly, overwhelmed by the revelation. "W-W-Wait, y-you mean like...a-actual criminals?"

"Yes, that's _exactly_ what I mean."

"So it's just like in _Our Hero Academia_," concluded Nirengeki. Then, he sighed. "Listen, Midoriya...I too enjoyed what we did to catch that sicko Mustard, I really did. But...isn't fighting real criminals kinda...you know, _dangerous_?"

"Yeah, I know it can be dangerous, Shoda," Izuku replied in a soft, earnest voice. "Regularly doing what we did to catch Mustard in the act, but only with gangsters outside of school and the like... But you have to understand, the only reason why Mineta is no longer expelled and in jail is because of our actions. And now we've tapped into something that none of us knew existed within us."

"A-And th-that is...?" Toru asked timidly.

"Our desire to do the right thing." Izuku looked down at his outstretched palm. "We _have_ to keep doing the right thing... We just have to, 'cause it's clear at this point that no one else will do it for us. We all cannot just stand by when someone needs help." He looked up determinedly. "We _have_ to keep the Hero Club going."

"I understand your rationale, Midoriya," Manzo replied, "but what you're suggesting is _vigilantism_. And let's not forget we are all _underage_. _None_ of us are qualified for that sort of thing."

"I know, Fukidashi. But you know all about the Shie Hassaikai, right?"

"Of course. Who doesn't?"

Manzo's statement was punctuated by nods from Nirengeki, Paula, Toru, Eijiro, and even Denki and Hanta.

"That proves my point, guys," Izuku replied. "We know _all_ about the Shie Hassaikai and their influence on this town. This town that we call home, it's now a breeding ground for criminals of all kinds. Everyone knows about it, and yet no one's done a thing about it. It's like...we've surrendered to our circumstances. Like we've accepted it as a way of life. That...is unacceptable."

"So...you're saying the Hero Club is supposed to set an example for others?" Paula asked. "To encourage them to do the right thing?"

"Yes, that's _exactly_ right."

"Whatever happened to you saying you were gonna be done after we nabbed Mustard?" asked Manzo.

"Yeah," Nirengeki added. "I remember you making such a big deal out of this being a one-time thing."

"Really?" Eijiro asked, surprised.

"What changed your mind, Midoriya?" asked Paula.

Upon hearing the half-American exchange student's question, Izuku lowered his head with a look of shame creeping onto his freckled face. A certain memory was swimming back to the forefront of his mind...

**_"Help! Help me! Someone, please! Help me!"_**

**_"Calling for help won't do ya any good. As you can see, no one gives a damn."_**

"Once..." Izuku said, his voice heavy with gloomy reluctance, "_Once_...I had an opportunity...to do the right thing...to...to help someone who was in need... But...But I didn't take it... I was..." His voice choked as his eyesight became blurred. "I was too afraid to help..." Then, he recollected himself and looked back up, his eyes shining with determination. "That's a feeling no one should experience. And if that was awful for me, then...then I can't even _imagine_ to think about...how the person I failed to save is feeling right now."

Once he stopped speaking, Izuku realized the others were staring back at him with bewilderment. Even Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta were stunned by such an admission. After a tense silence, Nirengeki spoke up.

"I see now. So...you've been eaten away by guilt this whole time...and the Hero Club is your way of preventing an event like the one you just described...from _ever_ happening again."

"N-Not exactly. That incident was just the trigger. My...My origin story..." Izuku took a deep breath and stared up at the Manga & Anime Club sign. "It's like you said, Tsunotori. The Hero Club is supposed to be the shining example for others in this town. If anything else, the Hero Club should show everyone in this town that...they no longer have any reason to be afraid."

"Wow..."

"Cool phrase right there, Midoriya," remarked Paula.

"Mm-hm, mm-hm!" Toru vocalized in agreement.

"Look," Izuku said while looking back at his new allies, "if you guys don't wanna keep going, then that's fine-"

"No, no, no!" Nirengeki suddenly said. "I'll..._I'll_ keep going!"

Izuku's eyes widened. "You...You _will_?"

Nirengeki nodded with narrowed eyes. "I know how it feels, Midoriya. My parents' ramen shop is the meeting place for a bunch of Shie Hassaikai thugs, and they have driven all the other customers out. We cater to _criminals_ at this point. And it's all because of them the cops are breathing down my parents' necks.

"I...I think the only reason they haven't been arrested yet is because someone at the top of Shie Hassaikai is paying the police off, because the thugs like my parents' ramen. But I know it won't be long till something bad happens." He looked down at the ground with concern. "Either the thugs do something that'll get my parents arrested...or my parents will..." He hesitated. "Will outlive their...usefulness..."

Everyone else simply stared at Nirengeki, stunned by his story. Even Mei, Manzo, Paula, and Toru looked rather surprised by their friend's revelation.

"Man," Denki replied, shocked. "That sucks..."

"That doesn't just _suck_!" Eijiro cried, his eyes suddenly burning with rage. "That's absolutely _unmanly_ of those crooks!"

"You sure have a thing for manliness, don't you, Kirishima...?" Paula asked hesitantly.

"W-Well," Manzo said, "if Shoda's willing to keep going, th-then I will too!"

"You _will_?" asked Izuku.

"Hell, yeah! Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to find the safest routes home?! Those Shie Hassaikai thugs are all over the streets and their numbers are growing! Every day I have to find a new route home and...I'm honestly sick of it." Manzo clenched his fists tightly. "If we could succeed where the police failed with Mustard, then why the hell should I have any doubts about this club's chances of success?"

"I'm in too!" Paula cried. "And so is Hagakure! Right, Hagakure?"

"Y-Ye-Yeah!" Toru shouted, trying her best to conceal her nervousness. "L-Let's kick s-some Sh-Sh-Shie H-Ha-Hass-s-sai-k-ka-kai b-bu-butt!"

"Now _that's_ more like it, guys!" Mei exclaimed enthusiastically. Then, she focused on Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta. "So, what about you three? You're all still in, or what?!"

"Damn right!" Denki cried while excitedly sticking up his thumb.

"We just joined, after all!" added Hanta. "Can't afford to waste our new membership!"

"We're with ya till the end, Midoriya!" Eijiro shouted boldly. "We're all gonna help you take names and kick asses!"

"Just tell us what to do next, Midoriya!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there, tigers!" Mei cried, her voice overflowing with excitement. "Before we can get things started, I think we need to lay out some groundwork for the club!"

"Groundwork?" asked Manzo.

"Yep! And first thing's first, I'd like to show you all the mission statement I worked on for the Hero Club!"

"A mission statement?" Paula asked.

"Since when were you working on a mission statement, Hatsume...?" asked Izuku.

"Since the weekend." Mei gave the green-haired boy a cheeky smile. "_What_? I knew you were gonna say yes to the Hero Club, so I thought I'd do this in advance!"

All of a sudden, she reached under her shirt and fiddling around with her breasts of all things. Izuku and the girls looked away quickly. As for the other boys, they gawked at the sight in a voyeuristic fashion for a second before finding enough sense to whip their heads away as well. Unbeknownst to them, this unexpected move was not sexual in nature; instead, the pink-haired girl procured an ancient-looking, rolled-up scroll of paper after some difficulty.

"Alriiiiiiiight, heeere we go!" the otaku cried boisterously, catching the attention of her peers again. Instead of voyeurism or embarrassment, the entire group shared a reaction of flat confusion.

"Is that...a medieval _scroll_?" Nirengeki asked.

"Yep! Nifty, huh? Wanna know where I got it from?!"

"You know, I think I'd rather not..."

"Aw, phooey. Well, if you insist..." Mei unfurled the scroll, allowing the others to see her handwriting through the almost-see-through paper. "Okay, here goes!"

The otaku girl cleared her throat before using a dramatic voice. "We, the members of Hero Club, swear to protect all that is good and innocent from the forces of evil and injustice, anywhere and everywhere. With our seven values of courage, compassion, honesty, reliability, teamwork, perseverance, and (most of all) anonymity, we intend to scour and rid all the neighborhoods of the criminals that infest it and restore them to what they once were: peaceful, normal neighborhoods that accommodate any and all people. In the face of oppression, we will not rest. We will not desist. We will not yield. We will not crumble. We will not give up. We will not do any of those things until we have completed our mission, no matter what it takes, for that is what it means to be a Hero. Anyone can become a Hero if they find the spirit within them to do so. Do _you_ have that spirit?"

The otaku took a deep breath before lowering the scroll and looking up at her club members. Upon seeing their intrigued expressions, her lips curled into a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"Well, guys?" she asked. "How's _that_ for a mission statement?"

"I gotta hand it to ya, Hatsume," Eijiro replied. "That was such a..." He suddenly clenched his fists so tightly they began to tremble. "Such a _manly_ mission statement!"

"Aw, gee! Thanks, Red Riot! I spent all weekend writing up that statement!"

"So, lemme get this straight," Denki said, "we're gonna be pretty much like those superheroes from the American comic books and movies. Is that right?"

"Pretty much!"

"Well, why do ya think this is called the _Hero_ Club, Jamming-Yay?" Hanta asked while lightly slapping the back of Denki's shoulder.

Upon hearing the nickname, the blond boy blushed with embarrassment. "Pl-_Please_ don't call me by that, Sero..."

"Alright!" Mei cried while casually tossing the scroll away. "Now that the mission statement's out of the way..." The otaku girl looked Midoriya, who tensed up. "Midoriya, I know you worked on something too!"

"Wh-What?!" Izuku exclaimed, his voice cracking. "H-How'd you-?"

"Know? You've been carrying around that notebook all fidgety-like, Midoriya, so I know there's something exciting inside! So, since I'm right, will you please do the honors?"

"O-Oh!" Izuku cried, surprised by the attention suddenly placed on him. "S-Sure!" He pulled out the notebook he had on him earlier and opened it. "Okay, everyone. Listen up. If the Hero Club's gonna work, then we're gonna need rules."

"Rules?" Manzo asked. "Since when did you have a list of rules for us, Midoriya?"

"Well, just now."

"Why write rules for us?" Nirengeki asked curiously.

"W-Well, i-if we're gonna fight th-the Shie Hassaikai and other criminals, th-the Hero Club is g-go-gonna have to do it a certain way. S-So w-we don't get in over o-our heads..."

"That makes sense," Manzo replied.

"Okay, then!" Eijiro cried, his jagged teeth bared in a wide, excited grin. "So, what're your rules for us, Midoriya?!"

"Well, uh..." Izuku tried to clear his throat. "Well... R-Rule number one, uhhh..."

The green-haired boy looked back up at the rest of the group, and they were staring back at him expectantly. However, timidness and apprehension took a tight hold over him, and he couldn't find the strength or courage to produce words in his mouth anymore.

_"Oh, no!"_ he thought in distress. _"Everyone's looking at me, like I'm their leader o-or something! I know I'm the one who wrote the rules, b-but I didn't ask to be in this role! I-It's too much pressure!"_

"Well, alrighty then!" Mei suddenly cried, still using her usual chipper voice. "If you're gonna be too nervous of a wreck to carry on, then I guess I'll take over from here!"

With that, she walked forward and snatched the notebook from Izuku's hands, an action that he gladly accepted. With an embarrassed sigh, the green-haired boy stepped to the side and simply watched as Mei read his handwriting.

"Huh. Ten rules, eh? Gotta love your lucky numbers!"

"Ten's a lucky number...?" Denki asked in a confused whisper.

"Rule number one!" Mei recited in a deep, unnecessarily dramatic voice that startled everyone else. "You do NOT let any adults know about the Hero Club!"

"This reminds me of a movie I once watched back in America!" Paula cried with excitement.

"Rule number two! When someone asks for help, we help."

"Well, that was an obvious one," replied Manzo.

"But what if the request is a dangerous one?" Nirengeki asked.

"Well," Mei said in response, "this next rule addresses that. Rule number three!"

"You don't have to use that voice every time you read a new rule, ya know..." Denki commented quietly.

"What're you talking about?!" Eijiro cried, glaring at his friend. "That's such a badass voice! Keep it up, Hatsume!"

The otaku flippantly ignored both of the boys. "If you find yourself in any danger, retreat in any way you can."

"Retreat?" Hanta asked.

As for Eijiro, he looked at Izuku with an affronted face. "Sorry, but I can't say I agree with this rule, Midoriya." He raised a clenched fist. "We're gonna be fighting Villains down the road! We cannot just retreat like cowards! It's not manly!"

"Look, Hatsume nearly had a breakdown last week!" Izuku cried defensively. "What if she gets herself into danger again and has another breakdown?! Remember, we're facing off against the Shie Hassaikai, not Mustard. Who knows how any of us are gonna react in the face of actual criminals?! We can't have a really terrible incident on our conscience!"

"Well, I know what _I'm_ gonna do when I find myself in danger, and it's punch my way out like there's no tomorrow!"

Before Izuku could respond, Mei cried, "Ooh, ooh, I like _this_ rule! Rule number seven!"

"I think you skipped a couple of rules..." Denki remarked.

"Uhhh, Hatsume?" Izuku asked, catching the otaku girl's attention. "Ma-Maybe you should go in chronological order. You might confuse everyone if you just read the rules that you like. Pl-_Please_...?"

Mei pouted adorably. "Ahhhhh, _fine_...but it's only 'cause you said the magic word, Midoriya..." She scanned the list again before retaining her dramatic voice. "Rule number four! Everyone must wear costumes and refer to each other by code-na- Hey, I was way ahead of you there, Midoriya! We make such a great team, you and I!"

"But you didn't write any of these rules..." Nirengeki commented.

"Well, I'm the one who encouraged him! So I pretty much wrote them with him in spirit!" Suddenly, Mei's attention was caught again, like a moth to a flame. "Ooh, rule number five! The Hero Club shall only be active at night and during the weekends and holiday breaks!"

"Whoa, wait a minute," Manzo said curiously, "why during the nighttime...?"

"Remember rule number one," Izuku replied. "How're we gonna keep the Hero Club a secret from the adults if we're all gonna keep sneaking out from their watch every day? Especially during school?"

"Well, it's not like the adults give a shit-"

"Aizawa-sensei does."

Manzo's blood suddenly ran cold. "Oh, _right_... Aizawa-sensei..."

"Look, the only way the adults won't know about the Hero Club is if we operate during our time off."

"So we pretty much lead second lives," concluded Nirengeki.

"Just like American superheroes!" Paula cried, her eyes shimmering with wonder.

"Y-Yeah..." Izuku sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Pr-Pretty much..."

"But how're we gonna juggle between days of school and nights of Hero work?" Manzo asked. "I need to study for tests."

"Actually," Mei replied, "it looks like the next rule addresses that too!"

"I swear," Nirengeki said disapprovingly, "if you use that stupid dramatic voice again, I'll-"

"Rule number six!"

"_Aaaaannnnnd_ she's done it..."

"Only three Heroes will be active per night. That number will be flexible depending on how many people will join the Hero Club."

"Three Heroes per night?" asked Manzo. "So we're gonna do this on certain days?"

"Like you said, Fukidashi," Izuku replied. "So we all have enough time to sleep. We'll figure it out later on."

"Rule number seven!" Mei exclaimed. "Oh yeah, I definitely like this one. Don't kill anyone, or otherwise subject them to unnecessary injury, unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Well, that's pretty self-explanatory," Denki commented.

"Wait," said Eijiro. "_Unless_ it's absolutely necessary?"

"If there's no other way out of a fight," Izuku replied. "But I doubt that'll be the case."

"Rule number eight!" recited Mei. "We treat everyone with kindness and sympathy, even if they are criminals."

"We can't sink to their level, guys," explained Izuku. "Regardless of who they are and what they've done, we do not have any right to treat them like garbage."

"Rule number nine! If this is your first night at the Hero Club, then you have to go out on patrol."

"Ooh, now this _really_ sounds like that one movie I watched!" Paula commented. "I forgot the name, though-"

"And last but not least, rule number ten!" Mei paused for a moment, confused at Izuku's choice of words. "Always do the right thing..."

"Always do the right thing, huh?" Eijiro asked.

"What the hell does _that_ mean?" Hanta asked.

"I...I honestly don't know..." replied Izuku. "I wrote that on instinct, but I lost the meaning."

"Well, I still like it!" Mei cried. "It's a good reminder for all of the members to keep their spirits pure and motivated while they're in the Hero Club! I think we'll keep that as a rule." The otaku girl handed the notebook back to Izuku. "So tell us, Midoriya, what should we do first?"

"Wh-Why're you asking _me_?!" Izuku cried.

"Well, _you're_ the one who jump-started this whole thing. I couldn't have thought up of this without your help."

"Yeah," Nirengeki replied. "You're the one who roped us into helping you prove Mineta's innocence and dress up in those costumes of ours."

"Wait, you guys have _costumes_?!" Denki exclaimed.

"Look, look, I didn't have enough time to _really_ think this over!" Izuku interjected. "I just thought of those rules from the top of my head! I-I don't have anything else in mind for us right now-"

"Okay, then," replied Mei. "I'll start us off with this topic: how exactly are we gonna recruit more members?"

"R-Recruit...m-more _members_...?"

"Yeah! Surely we _can't_ be the only members of the Hero Club! There's only nine of us!"

"Well, aren't we supposed to be a club of secrecy?" Nirengeki asked. "How're we gonna find the perfect people to recruit? People who we know won't rat us out?"

"Not to mention people who won't just think of us as silly," added Paula. "Or crazy. Or suicidal. Or all of the above, pretty much."

"Why don't we just start off with what we did with Mineta?" Eijiro suggested.

"What do you mean by that?" Manzo asked.

"Well, think about what happened. First, a crime was committed, which was Mustard breaking into the girls' locker room and stealing all those panties. Second, a suspect was arrested, Mineta. Third, Midoriya felt something was off about the official story, so he dug deeper. Fourth, he recruited us for help, and, well...you know all the rest. So basically, the only reason we're here in the first place was because of that break-in."

"So..." Izuku replied slowly, "you're suggesting...we find _crimes_ to solve? Is that what you're saying, Kirishima?"

Eijiro grinned. "Yeah, pretty much!"

"Oh, _I_ get it!" Mei cried excitedly. "So you're thinking we should scour the newspapers for any unsolved crimes, and if we find anything, we look into 'em!"

"Uhhhhh...I didn't have _that_ in mind, but...that's actually a good idea!"

"Alright, then!" The grinning Mei pointed high in the air. "Hit the newspapers, everyone, 'cause we've got some crimes to solve!"

A split-second later, the school bell rang, and everyone could hear the students filling the hallways outside. With her wide grin still in place, Mei lowered her arm and crossed her arms.

"Well, let's just continue this tomorrow! For now, I want everyone to read whatever newspapers you can find and check if there are any unsolved crimes we can look into! Then come back with your reports tomorrow. Now...remember the Hero Club motto, everyone!"

"Wait, now this club have a _motto_?" a perplexed Hanta asked.

"Of course we do! We've always had one!"

"Since when...?" Nirengeki asked slowly.

Mei stared at him. "So you're telling me you don't remember the motto?"

"Of course not, Hatsume! No one remembers the motto because we never even settled on one!"

"Really now?" Mei thought about it for a minute. "Oh, _yeah_... I think you're right, Shoda..."

Nirengeki sighed and slapped his palm. "Jeez..."

"Okay, then! Let's decide on a motto!" Mei looked at Izuku. "What do you think our motto should be, Midoriya?!"

"M-_Me_?!" squeaked Izuku. "Wh-Why're you asking _me_?"

For once, Mei sighed and shook her head. "Midoriya, you weren't able to read the rules that _you_ wrote for us, you didn't make a decision on what the Hero Club should do first, and _now_ you're nervous about coming up with a _motto_? A motto of all things?!"

"B-But...I-I don't even-"

"Midoriya, you're the catalyst behind all of this. We're here because of you, and we're willing to stay. And as the catalyst of the Hero Club, well, I believe you should have the right to make at least _one_ decision for the Hero Club on its first day of operations!"

Izuku blinked slowly. "You...You think so...Hatsume...?"

"Why, of course! And it's just a motto, Midoriya! Shouldn't take you _that_ long to come up. So just think for a few seconds and give me your best shot."

"O-Okay..."

Already, Izuku felt the gears in his mind whirring faster than they ever whirred before.

_"I gotta think of something,"_ he thought. _"A motto... A really, _really_ good motto..."_

**_"Welcome back, Midoriya-kun!"_**

**_"Hi, Shimura-san! Has the newest volume of _Lone Piece _come in yet?"_**

**_"Uh-huh. It's waiting over at that shelf. I have it marked just for you."_**

**_"Thank you so much, Shimura-san!"_**

_"One that's appropriate for the Hero Club... One that'll stick with its members for as long as the Hero Club exists..."_

**_"Welcome back, Midori- Hm? Midoriya-kun? Were you just crying?"_**

**_"N-N-No..."_**

**_"Are the bullies picking on you again?"_**

**_"No... Yes... I-I tried to stop them, but-"_**

**_"Hey, there's no buts about it. Even if there's no way out, that's no excuse to submit. You stand up to them, kiddo, and you do it with resolve. Bullies always avoid people who show their inner strength. One day, you'll have the strength to show them why they should never mess with the likes of you! Alright?"_**

**_"Alright!"_**

**_"That's the spirit, kiddo!"_**

_"One's that's simple and to the point..."_

**_"Well, I don't know what to tell you, Midoriya-kun. Your mother and I won't be around forever. You've gotta find someone else who will listen to you and care about what you have to say. Otherwise, you're just gonna be alone in the world, and that'll be a whole lot scarier than facing off against a group of bullies."_**

_"And most of all, one that'll give its members the hope and determination they need to carry forward..."_

**_"Wow! Look at that, Mommy! Plus Ultra Manga!"_**

**_"Plus Ultra Manga, huh? That sounds interesting, Izuku! Hey, let's check it out!"_**

_"Hope and determination..."_

**_"Hi there, welcome to Plus Ultra Manga. Huh, I see we've got a first-timer here."_**

**_"Hi there! I'm Izuku! Izuku Midoriya!"_**

**_"Nice to meet you, Izuku. I'm Shimura."_**

**_"Wooooow... You look like a skeleton!"_**

**_"BLEEEEEAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"_**

**_"Izuku, look away, honey!"_**

"PLUS ULTRA!"

An awkward silence hung in the classroom for a few moments. Then, Nirengeki asked, "What'd you say, Midoriya...?"

"Plus Ultra!" Izuku replied. "That's gonna be the Hero Club motto!"

"Plus..._Ultra_...?" Eijiro asked.

"I've never heard of such a phrase before..." Denki whispered to Hanta.

"It's in _Our Hero Academia_!" cried Mei, her sapphire-blue eyes twinkling with awe and realization. "And it's also the name of the local manga café!"

Izuku looked at her. "Wait, you _know_ what Plus Ultra Manga is?"

"Of course, Midoriya! I'm a fan of all things anime- and manga-related, so I go there all the time!"

"I mean," Manzo added, "it's the _only_ manga café in town, so..."

"Plus Ultra Manga, huh?" asked Hanta. "I think I've heard of the place."

"Hey, maybe we should all go there sometime!" Eijiro suggested. "Check it out, maybe get ourselves more immersed in the stuff that Midoriya likes!"

**_"You're not allowed to come back here until you find something productive to do at school, Midoriya. I don't care what it is, as long as you make friends and enjoy life beyond the pleasures of manga. Once you're able to do that, you're free to come back in and read to your heart's content."_**

"Y-_Yeah_..." Izuku commented warily. "M-Maybe some other time..."

Before Eijiro could speak up, Mei cried, "Well, I like that motto a lot! Let's consider it official!" The pink-haired girl quickly looked around before grabbing the student newspaper she tossed aside a few minutes earlier and rolling it up. "I hereby declare the first-ever meeting of the Hero Club...adjourned!"

With that, she whacked the nearest table with the rolled-up newspaper she had in her hand. As soon as she did that, the others delivered flat stares at her.

"Did you just pretend that newspaper was a _gavel_?" Denki asked.

"Ah, don't mind her, Sero," Nirengeki said. "Hatsume does stuff like that all the time."

"You'll get used to it," added Paula.

* * *

**A/N:** And that officially marks the end of this chapter! Yes, there was quite a lot of exposition here compared to the last chapter, but finally, _finally_, the Hero Club has been founded, and now its members have taken it upon themselves to do some real-life crime-fighting! But how will they accomplish this and make their club of secrecy known to all those who'd be potentially interested in joining? Well, that's something you'll have to wait and see in the next couple of chapters!

Now, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:

**-DiRunner:**

**1)** Thanks! Yes, obviously there's a very good reason why being called crazy triggers Mei so much. Fortunately, she and Izuku have buried the hatchet and are now working together (sort of) to set up this Hero Club! You can expect a bunch of good things ahead of these partners!

**2)** Thank you so much for your patience. Do bear with me, because while I'm on winter break, I have other fics to attend to. But I'll try my best to pump in a couple of chapters for this story before my break ends and I go back to school.

**-SilentReader97:** "Good chapter"? Is that all you have to say in your review? I know it's a compliment, but please, next time you review, I want specifics. What did you like about the chapter? What did you not like? Any comments or beliefs that I should know about? Any questions? Please, I'd like to be in the loop about these things so I can keep improving the story into something you love reading.

**-Raizen1125:**

**1)** Wow, I'm so glad my depiction of schizophrenia and its effects on others is very on point! Thanks for your professional input! To be honest, my only experience with people suffering from schizophrenia is through films and TV shows, and you know how Hollywood likes to embellish things. But I'm glad I avoided the stereotypical territory, especially since I had to talk about Mei's AU past and all.

**2)** I accept your offer for a cyber-handshake.

**3)** I've heard of the "Persona" series before, but not enough to understand the reference. Either way, I've already got an entire story on how Izuku and Mina are going to connect, and it's going to be pretty personal for the both of them.

**4)** Thank you so much for the offer! I appreciate it. I'll be sure to shout out to you via PM if I need some consulting! :D

**-manny0101:**

**1)** If you were planning on skipping the story, why did you bother leaving behind a review in the first place? If you left a review, then that means you, at the very least, had to scroll through the entire chapter in order to get to the review box and write your review, which means you caught some split-second glimpses of my writing. That's not skipping at all.

**2)** I don't know who you'd prefer Katsuki and Ochako's romantic partners to be, but this story is in no way an attempt to insult your favorite pairings. That's why I put up those shipping disclaimers in the summary in the first place, so people of certain parties know this fic is not going to be their type and therefore steer clear of it.

**-W0lfWarrior:** But...Ochako _is_ going to be a part of Katsuki's development... That was the plan all along...

**-Scarecrow345:**

**1)** Hey, looks like your vote counted! Thank you so much for responding with your two cents! Your feedback was greatly appreciated!

**2)** Would you mind being more specific as to why you enjoyed the story? I need more details so I know what I can do to keep making the story a great read for you.

**-MarvelNinja10:**

**1)** Indeed, Kaminari and Sero are a little less interested about redemption, but the Hero Club should humble them down a peg or two!

**2)** As much as I would have loved to do that MHA/MCU crossover, unfortunately, it's still on the drawing board as of this writing, so...it's a no-go for now. We'll see what happens in a few months.

**-****Tasia'sENDLESSDreams:**

**1)** Thanks! Being out of Izuku's POV for once in this fic was a unique experience for me, since this is primarily supposed to be Izuku's story.

**2)** Well, since Mei is pretty much the co-leader of Hero Club, she'll definitely be privy to a lot of the personal happenings and interactions between the club's members. And since we're talking about Mei, her respect for privacy is close to zero. XD

**3)** Ah, I think Izuku will become as great as a role model to Mei as she is to him... ;)

**4)** Neither of those two scenarios you proposed are what I had in mind for the MHA/MCU crossover, but those are pretty good ideas nonetheless. Unfortunately, I'm settled on pursuing the Class 1-B project first, since I've already pumped out a lot more material on it compared to the crossover. Depending on what the reaction is, and what my personal opinion of that project is further down the road, I could start more serious work on the crossover, though. We'll see about that. You would've liked the crossover, though, I think. Sorry about the potential wait.

**-Guest reviewer #1:**

**1)** Thank you so much for responding with your two cents! Your feedback was greatly appreciated!

**2)** Do you have any specific comments for the chapter you reviewed on? Please, I don't mean to sound pushy, but I need detailed feedback in addition to that vote.

**-Guest reviewer #2:** Thanks! I'm glad the fic is original in concept; I really like doing original stuff. But can you please be a little more specific in your feedback next time? Like, what did you like about the chapter? What did you not like? Any comments or beliefs that I should know about? Any questions? Please, I'd like to be in the loop about these things.

**-****xnickyx123:** Please, please, _please_ don't beg me to update in not one, but TWO different reviews. I'll have to repeat myself on this. You definitely need to understand that life outside of writing can be quite a hassle for me, and it gets in the way oftentimes. I am trying my best in getting these chapters done, but the relationship between the writer and the reader is not a one-lane street. You, the reader, need to be patient with me, the writer, and understand I am a person with my own life to attend to as well. I assume you have your own life to attend to a lot of the time? Well, me too. In the words of Neil Gaiman, "People are not machines. Writers and artists aren't machines." And pardon my French, for I do not mean to sound disparaging in any way, but I am most certainly not "your bitch".

**-Gomizia:** Thanks! I'm so glad Mei of all things is what got you officially hooked on the story! I hope my slightly altered characterization of her is just as perfect as it was before!

**-Guest reviewer #3:**

**1)** Well...I'm glad to know my interpretation of such a character was enough to make you feel all that rage and passion.

**2)** Is that all you have to say for your review? Please, next time you review, I want specifics. What did you like about the chapter? What did you not like? Any comments or beliefs that I should know about? Any questions? Please, I need more feedback so I can keep writing the story the way you like it.

Well, hope you enjoyed this somewhat late chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE! And always remember...PLUS ULTRA!


	14. The Plight of the Popular Girl

**A/N:** Sorry about the delay, you guys. This could've been posted earlier, but if you've been following my profile, you will know that I came down with an ear infection that left me out of the game for quite a bit. I had it for a few days since the tail-end of 2019, and I think I caught it due to a combination of a seasonal allergy that I caught days earlier and me just liking to scratch my ear-hole with my dirty fingernails. So yeah, it was bad for a bit, and I had to take some medication to make sure I recovered a lot quicker.

Fortunately, the ear pain went away pretty quickly, and now I'm feeling much better, all things considered. I think I still have a little leftover liquid trapped behind my eardrum, but I'm going to sit on that and let it drain naturally for about a couple of months or so before I think about seeing a doctor again. If I learned anything from all the research I did while I was incapacitated, it's nothing too serious, and it should resolve on its own.

Anyway...what a way to start off 2020, am I right?!

Oh, and before we begin, just a little note for everyone to keep in mind: the first couple of scenes for this chapter is set at the same time as the previous chapter.

ENJOY!

**P.S.:** I hope you all had a Happy New Year's celebration! :D :D :D

* * *

"Hero students catch underwear thief. Tch."

Mina Ashido watched from the far end of the cafeteria table as Katsuki Bakugo angrily slid the student newspaper to the other side. A nasty scowl slowly formed on his face as the ashy-blond stared off broodingly into the distance. She could feel an aura of awkwardness hanging over the table, a sensation shared by the other members of her group.

"Hey, man," Neito Monoma said, his smile ever-so-sycophantic as he consolingly patted Katsuki's shoulder. "Don't get too wound up over the otaku and those snobbish, know-it-all nerds he calls friends. Their newfound popularity doesn't even have the remotest chance of eclipsing yours."

"I dunno..." a timid voice said feebly, catching Mina's attention. "Everyone seems to be talkin' about 'em-"

Neito shot the speaker an intimidating look. "Hey, shut it, Amajiki. You're not helping."

Tamaki Amajiki lowered his head so quickly and urgently that he actually _slammed_ his forehead on the table, concerning Mina. However, as it turned out, the impact didn't hurt him one bit, and instead, he moaned out of embarrassment and a little relief at having said his piece.

"I still don't get why Kiri of all people is getting into this, though," Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu snarled. "He's too manly for that bitchy superhero shit."

"Kirishima's just an anomaly," Neito replied boastfully. "You saw how he was after the incident with those three goons. It shook his confidence, and it left him vulnerable to the otaku's influence." With a haughty smirk, he plucked a spoonful of homemade French food from his box and ate it. "But he'll soon see how utterly _delusional_ that Midoriya boy is, and he'll realize he's a whole lot better than that. I guarantee you, in less than 48 hours, Kirishima will be coming back to us."

Mina was about to speak up when someone else did.

"And what about Kaminari and Sero?" Hitoshi Shinso asked. "Kaminari wasn't as shaken by the incident, and yet, he still decided to associate himself with Midoriya. As for Sero, well, he wasn't even there when Bakugo nearly got mugged."

"Y-Ye-Yeah," Tamaki added hesitantly. "H-How do you explain _that_, Mo-Monoma...?"

"Well," Yuga Aoyama replied with a flick of his blond hair, "Kaminari and Sero are what you would call..._idiots_..."

Mina silently rolled her eyes at Yuga's demeanor.

"Yeah, they're not smart at all!" added Tetsutetsu. "They're..." He suddenly started straining his mind. "Ohhh, what's the word again...?"

Yuga rolled his eyes. "Idiots?"

"O-Oh." Tetsutetsu started rubbing his chin with his index finger. "Actually, I was thinking of another word, but I couldn't come up with anything else-"

"Ah, will ya halfwits just shut your TRAPS already?!" Katsuki barked. "I don't wanna hear about that useless Midoriya and his stupid lil' misadventures! It's driving me fucking NUTS!"

Mina looked away from the fuming Katsuki with an annoyed sigh and began taking a sip of the grape soda she bought. At first, she spaced out, reflecting on the recent events that culminated in Katsuki reading the school newspaper. Then, the corner of her eye caught a glimpse of green, and her sights zeroed in on that color in an instant.

Izuku Midoriya was sitting at a table on the other side of the school cafeteria, conversing with the members of the Manga & Anime Club and the group led by her class representative, Tenya Iida. Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta were among them. She couldn't hear their conversation, but judging by their own copy of the school's newspaper, they were animatedly talking about what they had done to exonerate Minoru Mineta of a terrible crime.

Upon laying her eyes on Izuku, Mina couldn't help but feel two different yet incomprehensible emotions bubbling within her, battling for dominance over her spirit.

Just then, she watched as the leader of the Manga & Anime Club, Mei Hatsume, sprang forward, like the hyperactive ball of a girl she was, and knocked Tenya to the floor...while _kissing_ him straight on the lips. It was an act witnessed by most of the cafeteria, which was swept over by a wave of awkward silence.

"Well..." Neito whispered, "things just got _interesting_..."

After about a minute, Mei watched as Tenya forcefully pried Mei off him, tearing her lips away from his. He then started hacking, sputtering, and spitting at the floor in shock while the others continued to watch, flabbergasted.

Thanks to the pregnant silence within the cafeteria, Mina could hear Eijiro's voice. "Wow, man. That was...actually pretty smooth of you right there."

"Wh-Wh-_What_?!" Tenya snapped. Then, he glared at Mei, who Mina realized was now smiling. "YOU! You made that move without any consent from me!"

"So?" Mei asked obliviously.

"S-_So_? Th-That is considered sexual assault!"

Mina pursed her lips uncomfortably. Then, in order to distract herself from the conversation, she laid her eyes on Izuku, who was staring at Mei and Tenya with as much stunned shock as everyone else. Once again, the very sight of him left her absolutely conflicted.

On one hand, she felt absolutely grateful for him, and hateful of herself for not catching onto his compassion sooner.

On the other hand, she felt-

"Stupid Deku."

Mina found herself looking back at Katsuki. He too was clearly focused on Izuku; his teeth were gritted as he delivered a searing stare at the green-haired boy. It looked like he was trying to burn the boy alive by sight alone. Her pupils flitted to his hand, which was currently holding a small milk carton; in his anger, Katsuki was unconsciously squeezing down on the half-full carton, causing milk to leak out from the open top.

"He thinks he's got the whole school in his hand now," the baseball player snarled. "That fucking bastard. I will show him who the true king of the school is, one of these days."

Katsuki suddenly crushed the milk carton in his palm, causing milk to jettison out of the plastic container and drench his hand. However, the ashy-blond didn't notice, for he was too preoccupied with the sight of Izuku looking rather happy in the company of friends for once in his life. Mina knew the sight of it was irking him greatly.

"I'll show him!" he snarled even more loudly.

"Yeah, _that's_ the spirit, Bakugo!" Neito cried jovially while patting the ashy-blond on the back.

Mina ground her teeth together and tapped her foot once in impatience. Any emotions that she felt against Izuku quickly dwindled out and was replaced with a combined sense of irritation towards Katsuki and protectiveness towards Izuku, an interesting inversion that she thought she would never experience.

Suddenly, before she could control herself, she blurted out, "You should be more fucking grateful, Bakugo."

In less than a split-second, the ganguro regretted the words that came flying out of her mouth. She felt herself shrinking in the seat as all of her friends trained their sights on her, Katsuki in particular. The ashy-blond slowly stood up from the seat and stared down at her, his eyelid twitching menacingly.

"What the hell did you just say to me, Ashido?" he asked, his voice disturbingly calm and slow.

"N-Nothing-" Mina began. She could already feel the beads of sweat developing on her pores.

"Didn't sound like nothing to me." Katsuki raised an eyebrow. "The fuck are you still doing here anyway?"

Mina felt affronted by those words and the tone of his voice. "Whaddaya mean? This is our table-"

"No, this is _my_ table. You lost the right to share a piece of it since last week."

Mina shot up on her feet and stared daggers into Katsuki's eyes, even if it meant incurring the wrath of the devil. "What the hell are you talking about, Bakugo?!"

"Ohhhhhh, I wonder what...?" Katsuki gritted his teeth. "What was it that you said to me last week, Ashido? 'If you can't appreciate a friend's efforts, then how can I keep being your friend?'"

_"Oh, yeah,"_ Mina thought somberly. _"I forgot about that...somehow..."_

"Why, yes, I remember that too," Yuga replied. His eyes glittered with a pompous vanity that sickened Mina to the pit of her stomach. "You were the first of us to stick up for that _garçon fou_ too."

"Gar..." Mina found herself struggling instantly. "Garsoo... Wh-Wha?"

"Stupid boy," clarified Neito.

"Stupid!" Tetsutetsu suddenly cried from the side. "Yeah, _that_ was the word I was thinking of earlier! _Stupid_!"

Mina frowned angrily, with the protectiveness taking a hold of her again. "Hey, Midoriya's not _stupid_!"

"Of course not," growled Katsuki. "He's _crazy_."

Mina clenched her fists. "He's not crazy either! He's...He's a kind, caring person! I-In fact..." Her bravery began to waver slightly, and an unusual meekness began to show itself. "H-He's p-probably th-the kindest person one would ever meet!"

"The kindest person one would ever meet." Katsuki's eyelid twitched unpleasantly. "HA! HAHA! Are you fucking _listening_ to yourself right now?! What the fuck is making you come up with that shit?!"

**_"You're my best friend. ...I...I couldn't just leave you like that. No matter what you've done to me. Even if you'll still demean my passion for manga, and call me an otaku and a loser and a defenseless guy, I would _still_ try to save you without asking. I can't make you leave me alone, but I can still care for you."_**

Mina clenched her fists even tighter at the memory of Izuku's words. "No matter how horrible you are to him, Bakugo... No matter how cruel and demeaning you can be, Midoriya is always going to care for you. You've always been his friend, at least in his eyes-" The ganguro girl lowered her face, trying her best to ignore the alarming flash that passed through Katsuki's deadly hazel eyes. "I...I don't know how he could be so tolerable and supportive of a jackass like you-"

"WHAT?!"

Upon hearing Katsuki's outburst, her mind began to race. "B-But it takes a special kind of friend to put up with someone like you and all their shit, even if that person gives you the cold shoulder, or worse. I...I thought I could be just as strong as Midoriya and try to put up with you, see through all of that hate and volatility and see your good side, but...I guess I was wrong."

"Damn right you're wrong!" Katsuki barked. Then, his lips curved into a sneer. "If you can't appreciate the simple concept of loyalty, then how can I keep considering you a friend?"

Mina slowly looked up at Katsuki and watched as Yuga, Neito, Tetsutetsu, and an ambivalent yet terrified Tamaki joined Katsuki's sides. Hitoshi remained seated for a moment, staring sympathetically at Mina, before reluctantly scooting over to Katsuki's side as well. This effectively left her the only one standing at the opposite end of the table.

With a sharp exhale, Mina grabbed her lunch and walked away.

"Fine!" she snapped irritably. "You keep on being a jerk, Bakugo. You keep up the asshole play. I, on the other hand, am gonna go to eat with friends who actually give a shit about not only each other, but other people as well."

"FINE, THEN!" Katsuki roared after her, startling everyone within earshot, which was a lot of people. "GO ON AND WALK AWAY, ASHIDO! BUT KNOW THIS, YOU ARE NEVER GONNA EAT AT THIS TABLE EVER AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME, YOU LITTLE BITCH?! YOU'RE NEVER GONNA BE SOMEBODY AT THIS SCHOOL EVER AGAIN!"

Mina stopped walking and simply stood there, frozen, with her back facing Katsuki's group. After a minute, however, she continued walking away. Fortunately, she didn't hear anymore outbursts from the arrogant baseball player. Instead, Mina headed towards the table Izuku and his friends were seated at, only to find it completely empty.

_"Huh,"_ she thought blankly. _"I guess they must've left for...somewhere else..."_

Mina wanted to figure out where Izuku and his friends went off to, but another instinct within her, one that soon became known to her, advised her not to. Instead, she departed from the cafeteria and proceeded to wander around the halls for some time, her mind absorbed in a whirlwind of thoughts.

Eventually, she found a girls' restroom. Once she entered and took in its quiet solitude, Mina sighed, leaned over a sink, and stared at herself in the grimy, poorly-maintained mirror. As the seconds flew by, she could feel disbelief washing over her, disbelief over the very words she hurled at Katsuki just a few minutes ago.

_"What the hell have I done?"_ she thought. _"I...I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have cut loose from Bakugo. He..."_ She slowly raised her hands to clutch her face. _"He was my only ticket to popularity... If I could've just stuck beside him for a couple more days, then things would've returned to the way they once were, before the incident..."_

Then, upon catching herself, Mina slapped her own cheeks. _"Don't think like that, Mina! You did the right thing! Bakugo's an asshole and you left as soon as you realized it! You did well, Mina! You did well! You did..." _Her eyes narrowed darkly._ "Besides...what makes you think things could _ever_ go back to the way they were before?"_

As she continued to stare into her own reflection, slightly distorted by the poorly-kept mirror, Mina couldn't help but feel something was wrong. There was a foreign sensation hanging in the air.

_"What makes you think you could keep continuing with your life as it was?"_

Mina tried to shake off this creeping feeling of discomfort, but it continued to persist and grow like a cancer.

_"Your life's over. It's _been_ over for a while."_

She suddenly felt her legs shaking.

_"You think you're such a master pretender, sucking up to Bakugo and his friends and their antics, manipulating so many people for your own false needs, falling for even your own lies. But now that your eyes have been forced wide open, you of all people should know by now that carrying on is futile. _Especially_ when you want to carry on with a lie you spent so many years crafting in the first place."_

Then, Mina began to lean closer to the mirror, guided by some unknown instinct amplified by the dark feeling of uncanny discomfort. She could see her darkened skin, her blonde hair, and her makeup, which made her face glitter brightly and brilliantly.

_"Everything's falling apart, Mina. It's all falling apart thanks to Midoriya and what he did... You might as well go with the flow, because nothing can be the same ever again."_

It was that moment when she realized why she felt so uncomfortable.

**_"Whoa! Look, it's Ashido! She's _sooooo_ sexy!"_**

**_"Man, what an exotic beauty! That dark skin, those curves, the blonde hair..."_**

**_"She looks just like a Hollywood superstar!"_**

**_"Damn that Ashido... Always more beautiful than the rest of us..."_**

**_"Damn, I wish she was my girlfriend. I'd treat her real good, I tell ya!"_**

**_"Come on, sweet cheeks."_**

Mina suddenly saw a pair of familiar eyes peering over her shoulder, followed by a beefy hand reaching out towards her. With a terrified scream, she punched the mirror so hard it cracked. Then, with a pained cry, she withdrew her hand in a split-second and took a look at it. Her backhand was dashed with scarlet blood seeping out of a considerable-sized cut in-between her knuckles. With gritted teeth, she clutched her hand for a moment, then she grabbed some paper towels and wrapped them around her wound.

Once she was done, she looked behind her, even though she already knew by that point no one else was in the bathroom with her. Finally, she glanced back at the cracked mirror, which distorted her reflection even further. There was a couple of small specks of blood at the origin point of all the cracks.

She took in a deep breath, just as an image of Izuku flashed across her memory. Once again, the ganguro girl could feel her emotions battling amongst one another, as if the very existence of Izuku Midoriya was an enigma in of itself.

With a heavy sigh, she tightened the paper towels wrapped around her hand, then she departed from the bathroom with a trembling hand.

* * *

Mina continued walking down the hallway in the direction of the nurse's office, ignoring the strange and concerned looks she got from student she passed by. She took a look at her cut, crudely-bandaged hand and saw that her blood was now beginning to blossom through the paper towels. However, this didn't motivate her to quicken her pace.

"Why don't we just start off with what we did with Mineta?"

Mina stopped, her mind latching onto the familiarity of the voice. She turned and saw it came from the classroom closest to her.

_"Kirishima?"_ she thought.

"What do you mean by that?" another voice asked; she recognized it as belonging to Manzo, one of the Manga & Anime Club members. On instinct, Mina moved closer to the closed doorway of the class.

"Well, think about what happened," Eijiro's voice replied with determination and focus. "First, a crime was committed, which was Mustard breaking into the girls' locker room and stealing all those panties. Second, a suspect was arrested, Mineta. Third, Midoriya felt something was off about the official story, so he dug deeper. Fourth, he recruited us for help, and, well...you know all the rest. So basically, the only reason we're here in the first place was because of that break-in."

_"What in the world are they talking about...?"_ Mina thought, her mind now off the cut on her hand.

"So..." She felt her heart skip a beat at the sound of Izuku's voice. "You're suggesting...we find _crimes_ to solve? Is that what you're saying, Kirishima?"

"Yeah, pretty much!"

"Oh, _I_ get it!" came the loud, excited voice of Mei Hatsume. "So you're thinking we should scour the newspapers for any unsolved crimes, and if we find anything, we look into 'em!"

"Uhhhhh...I didn't have _that_ in mind, but...that's actually a good idea!"

"Alright, then! Hit the newspapers, everyone, 'cause we've got some crimes to solve!"

_"Some crimes to_ solve?" Mina thought, stunned by the diction. _"Wh-What kind of conversation did I just eavesdrop on?!"_

A split-second later, the school bell rang, surprising Mei, who had to suppress a terrified squeal from escaping her throat. Before she could stop herself, or even evaluate the pros and cons of sticking around, she was already rushing away from the classroom and towards her intended destination.

Upon entering the office, Mina was greeted by a small, elderly woman with squinted eyes and gray hair that was styled into a netted bun. Even though Mina had never seen the school nurse before, the woman's white lab-coat clued her in on who exactly she was looking at right now.

"Oh, my!" the woman exclaimed, her attention diverted from a boy she had been in the process of examining. "Are you alright, my dear? You sure burst in here in a hurry!"

"Y-Ye-Yeah..." Mina replied bashfully, trying her best to ignore the blossoming blush on the boy's face that was no doubt sparked by her presence. "I-I, uhhh..." She meekly raised her bandaged hand. "I cut my hand. O-On some glass."

"Ohhhh my, indeed you did! Here, sit down here." The nurse patted the bed next to the boy's. "Put the pressure on that wound, and I'll get right back to you in just a quick second."

The nurse went to her personal cabinet in a hurry, while Mina followed her instructions, holding her bandaged hand more tightly. She strolled over to the bed next to the one the boy was sitting on and sat down on it. The ganguro took a quick look at her new companion; he had surprisingly pale skin; chin-length, spiky beige hair; and an aura around his face that would've been sinister if it hadn't been for the blush on his cheeks.

And unfortunately, rather than look elsewhere in the office, the boy continued to maintain his gaze on Mina, causing her to feel uncomfortable. She fidgeted awkwardly on her own bed, wondering if the wound she sustained wasn't bad enough so it could be treated right away and allow her to leave the office in an instant.

To Mina's relief, only a couple of seconds had passed when Shuzenji returned with a small first-aid kit, a magnifying glass that glinted from the lights on the ceiling, and several new scraps of paper towel.

"Here, honey," the nurse offered, taking Mina's hand. "Let me see that cut..."

She carefully unwrapped the paper towel from Mina's skin, and the ganguro winced from the resulting stinging sensation. Once her hand was fully exposed for Shuzenji to see, the nurse blinked with surprise.

"Oh, my," she said. "That's quite a cut, my dear. You're lucky it wasn't any deeper and on a more vital part of your body."

"Ah," Mina replied, distracted by the unsettling focus she continued to receive from the pale boy.

"Well, it's a good thing I have these in handy."

Shuzenji placed the first-aid kit beside Mina's thigh and opened it up. She first retrieved a minuscule, plastic bottle full of liquid and with a dropper for its lid. Mina eyed it with curiosity and noticed its label: 'DISINFECTANT'. However, Shuzenji didn't use this bottle; instead, she procured a second bottle of a similar size, turned the lid slightly, aimed the dropper at Mina's cut, and squeezed carefully.

"This is gonna sting a little, honey," the nurse warned gently.

With that, Shuzenji began spraying harmless cold water over the wound, cleansing it of the semi-dried blood that caked it, all the while using the same paper towels to absorb the water before it could drip onto the mattress of the bed. It only took a few seconds for the wound to be entirely cleaned, and Mina watched as the crimson color started to flower all over the area again.

That was when Shuzenji took the disinfectant bottle, turned its lid, and aimed its own dropper at Mina's bleeding cut.

"Now _this_ is gonna sting, honey," Shuzenji advised. "Don't move around too much."

A droplet of the liquid bloomed out of the dropper and fell onto the cut, triggering a brand-new sensation that Mina had never felt before. Stinging was an inaccurate term to describe it; instead, it was a small but searing feeling, like Mina had placed part of her hand directly over a flame and burned it.

She bit her lower lip and suppressed a moan of agony as the nurse began applying more of the disinfectant over her cut, taking great care as she progressed along. In the corner of her eye, Mina noticed the same pale boy staring at her, which made her wonder if he had been entranced by her beauty or was staring out of concern...or perhaps something else?

Fortunately, it didn't take long for Shuzenji to be done. Once she used the new paper towels to spread the disinfectant all over the wound, the nurse used the magnifying glass to inspect it. Occasionally, she would pepper it with the paper towel whenever the blood began to leak again.

"Tell me, dear," Shuzenji said, "how'd you cut your hand like that?"

"I told you," Mina replied irritably. "I cut it on-"

"Some glass, yes, yes, you told me that, honey." Shuzenji was undaunted by Mina's tone and attitude, and instead, she continued idly examining the cut. "I've worked here ever since this school first opened."

"Oh, great." The ganguro rolled her eyes. "A boomer."

Shuzenji still remained calm. "I have seen many cuts on many students in my life...so I have enough experience to know that this isn't a cut that you get when you try to pick up a shard of glass, or when you slip and take a nasty fall down the steps. No..." She abruptly paused. "This was an unintentional by-product of..." She adjusted her magnifying glass while zeroing her sights in on one particular spot of the cut. "A fit of high emotion of some kind..."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You punched some glass out of anger or frustration or distress."

Mina blinked with surprise. In her peripheral vision, she could see the pale boy staring at her with awe and surprise. Her face turned with red with embarrassment.

"I-I did no-" she began.

"You have a small piece of glass still embedded in the cut, my dear."

Mina felt her heart stop in horror. "I-I _do_?!"

"Mm-hm." Shuzenji pointed at the area of Mina's skin between her knuckles, and everyone could see a minuscule object that glittered with the light. "Over there. You don't get it there unless you apply a lot of force into it." She put away the magnifying glass and reached into the kit again. "And since that piece of glass in in your knuckle, I can only assume you got it by punching the glass."

"O-Oh..." Mina lowered her head, feeling a little humiliated at being exposed like that in front of one of her schoolmates. "Y-_Yeah_... I-I guess I did..."

"You _guess_?" Shuzenji arched an eyebrow as she procured a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "My dear, how do you guess _that_?"

"Y-You could say it was...u-unintentional..."

"Unintentional?" The nurse applied some of the rubbing alcohol onto the wound, causing Mina to flinch from the stinging sensation. "Would you mind telling me about it?"

Mina looked away, only to find herself looking at the pale boy, so she looked the other way.

"What's there to tell you about?" she asked.

"Perhaps there's nothing to tell...or perhaps there's everything to tell." Shuzenji put away the rubbing alcohol bottle and grabbed some tweezers. "Either way, do know that I'm here to listen to your problems, honey."

"Heh, yeah right." Mina rolled her eyes sardonically. "You're not a psychologist."

"No, no, I'm not. The school can't afford one, anyway. But I _am_ a listener."

With that, Shuzenji started lightly groping at the exposed cut with the tweezers, trying her best to get a good grip on the tiny piece of glass. Mina bit her lower lip at the ensuing nuisance that was the dulled prickling sensation, but she did not look away and instead watched as Shuzenji carefully poked around the area where the glass was.

After half a minute of silence, Mina blurted out, "I'm having problems."

"At home or at school?" Shuzenji asked without looking up.

"School. It's...my friends..."

"Ah, yes. The social life of a teenager can be full of complications. But you can always resolve them as long as everyone is willing to talk and listen to one another."

Mina sighed glumly. "Not in my case..."

"Nonsense. What kind of friend is unwilling to listen and talk to you?"

"Katsuki Bakugo."

It wasn't Mina who spoke, however. Shuzenji cast a quick glance at the pale boy next to them.

"What're you talking about, Honenuki?" she asked.

"I know her," the boy replied. "She's friends with Katsuki Bakugo."

"Bakugo?" Shuzenji tutted, and Mina couldn't tell if it was out of disapproval or something else. "I see now..."

"Wait, you _know_ Bakugo?" Mina asked, surprised.

"Of _course_, my dear. Who do you think treated his leg after last season's game?"

Mina blinked with surprise, and the memory of Katsuki overstretching his leg muscles while scoring an almost-impossible home-run returned to her mind.

"My, that kid was a wild one," Shuzenji continued almost absentmindedly, just as she finally got a good grip on the glass. "Loud, headstrong, and fiercely independent. Would _never_ admit there was a problem with him even if it cost him his life. Very hard to talk to."

"Yep," Mina replied, stunned by the accurate description. "That's, uhhh... That's Bakugo alright- ACK!" Her injured hand twitched suddenly, and she struggled to not tear it away from the nurse's grasp. "Hey!"

"Sorry, dear." Shuzenji walked away from Mina and released her grip on the tweezers, allowing the small piece of glass to fall into the trashcan. "Fortunately, that was the only glass that I could find in there. Allow me to bandage you up..." She walked back to her cabinet and took out some bandages. "What's your name, dear?"

"A-Ashido. M-Mina Ashido."

"Ashido." Shuzenji returned and started bandaging the ganguro's hand. "Tell me, Ashido, how's Bakugo-kun doing these days?"

"H-_Huh_?" Mina blinked with surprise, but she earnestly replied, "H-He's doing alright, I-I guess. S-Same old Bakugo..."

"Same old?" The nurse suddenly, somberly shook her head. "Oh, dear..."

Mina's eyebrows shot up with curiosity. "Why? Whaddaya mean 'oh, dear'?"

Shuzenji paused and looked up at the girl. Even though her eyes were squinted, Mina could feel the genuine concern that was radiating through the droopy, nearly shut eyelids.

"You mean...he didn't _tell_ you...?" she asked.

"Tell me?" Mina repeated. "Tell me what? What, did he tell you something?"

Shuzenji hesitated for a brief moment, then she resumed bandaging Mina's hand. "Never mind. I should never have said that-"

"Why? What'd Bakugo tell you?" Then, Mina's jaw dropped open in surprise. "W-Wait a minute, you got Bakugo to _talk_ to you?!"

"Shuzenji-san can make _anyone_ spill their guts out," the pale boy said. "It's like a supernatural ability of hers."

"Just because I said he was very hard to talk to doesn't mean I couldn't get him to talk," added Shuzenji. She finished up Mina's hand, cut the tape away from the roll, and walked back to the cabinet again. "Ashido, my dear, I'm afraid I cannot tell you what he confided in me. I think I've said enough."

"Why?!" Mina cried with disbelief. "Why can't you tell me?!"

Shuzenji continued to have her back on Mina as she spoke. "If you truly want to find out for yourself, talk to Bakugo-kun, Ashido. But you should tread carefully if you wish to solve your conflict with him."

"Yeah..." Mina sighed upon recalling Katsuki's parting words to her. "I don't think that's gonna happen..."

"Well, I don't know what else to tell you, Ashido, other than I'm not in a good position to tell you." Shuzenji walked back over to Mina and handed her a slip of paper. "Here. Give this to your teacher once you return to class. Your wound should heal up normally, but contact emergency services if and when there's a problem."

Mina stared at the nurse for a few moments, unsure whether she should continue pressing or not. After a while, she took the paper slip from Shuzenji's hand.

"Okay..." she replied.

"I hope you and Bakugo-kun make amends. You seem like a nice girl, and I'm aware of his reputation as a...womanizer, if you will."

"H-Huh?!" Mina started waving her hands while blushing furiously. "N-No, i-it's not like that!"

"They're just platonic friends," the boy clarified. "Or rather, she's more like one of his lackeys."

Shuzenji stared at him flatly. "Are you still here, Honenuki-kun?" she asked. "Do I need to treat you for anything else?"

"No, Shuzenji-san," the pale boy replied.

"Then scram. You've got class to go to."

"Y-Yes, Shuzenji-san..."

The boy, Honenuki, stood up and started to stroll out of the office. However, before he could reach the door and leave, he heard Shuzenji call out to him.

"And remember what I told you about pushing yourself," the nurse said compassionately. "You're not Superman, after all. You know that, right Honenuki-kun?"

"I know, I know..."

Shuzenji then stared at Mina. "You get going too, Ashido."

"O-Okay..."

She prepared to leave when Shuzenji called out to her. "But before you leave, Ashido, please know this: whatever kind of relationship you have with Bakugo, you can do better than that."

Mina stared at Shuzenji for a moment, trying to dissect those ambiguous words. Then, she followed Honenuki out of the office. Once the two were back in the hall, Mina looked over her shoulder in time to see Shuzenji closing the door behind them. She stood there for a moment, pondering over what she had just learned from the nurse.

"So," a voice said, "you're having problems with Bakugo."

Mina looked back in front of her and saw Honenuki still standing there. He was wearing a scornful expression, which was amplified by the sinister aura that hung over him.

"Can't say I'm tearing up over it," he said.

"Gee, thanks," Mina replied sarcastically. Then, she scanned him from head to toe. "So..._you're_ Juzo Honenuki."

"Who's asking?"

"Monoma's talked about you on occasion." She scanned him again, and this time, she felt a cold shiver run up her spine. "Gotta say, you're even creepier in person."

"And you look even more fake in person."

"_Fake_?!" Mina put her hands on her hips. "What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?!"

"Look at you. Blonde hair, tan skin, flashy accessories, skimpy clothing when you're not in school. _Clearly_ that's not what you've always looked like. Oh, and before you give me a line of crap about how you're comfortable this way or something corny like that, know this: that's Bakugo and his standards talking, not you..." Then, Juzo took a deep breath. "Well, but at least you've clearly seen through his bullshit. I hear rumors that Kirishima and a couple others have ditched his crew too. Frigging _Kirishima_, man. Isn't the guy gay for Bakugo or somethin'?"

"No, not really," Mina spat, becoming increasingly restless at Juzo's attitude.

"Well, either way, it's good to know Bakugo's whole gig is falling apart." Then, Juzo scowled and stared down the hallway. "To be perfectly honest...he should've gotten it a whole lot worse when he nearly mugged. Serves him right for being an asshole to those he thinks are underneath him."

Mina narrowed her eyes as memories of the incident with the three crooks returned to her mind.

"You don't have a high opinion of Bakugo, do you?" she asked, struggling to contain her anger.

"Whaddaya think?" Juzo gritted his teeth. "That fucking retard Midoriya should _never_ have saved him- OOF!"

The pale boy was knocked to the floor. Shocked, he held up a palm to his aching jaw, watching as a wincing Mina shook her uninjured hand. The two stared at each other for a long while, with Mina's face etched with rage while Juzo was left utterly speechless.

Eventually, Mina realized what she did and walked away as fast as she could. Fortunately, she didn't hear Juzo calling out to Shuzenji; instead, she felt his eyes boring down on her back like drills. Once again, she could feel a shiver creeping up her spine.

* * *

**_"Ashido, my dear, I'm afraid I cannot tell you what he confided in me. I think I've said enough."_**

_**"If you truly want to find out for yourself, talk to Bakugo-kun, Ashido. But you should tread carefully if you wish to solve your conflict with him."**_

_**"Well, I don't know what else to tell you, Ashido, other than I'm not in a good position to tell you."**_

_"What did she mean by that? What did Bakugo confide in Shuzenji-san...?"_

As Kayama continued to drone aimlessly about the humanities, Mina looked over her shoulder and saw Katsuki, who was staring absentmindedly at the teacher with pursed lips and a furrowed brow. She knew that look: he was thinking about her recent departure from his clique and how he was going to get back at her somehow. Then, their eyes suddenly met, and he flashed his gritted teeth at her, prompting the ganguro girl to refocus on Kayama's lecture.

Mina tried her best to listen, but after a couple of seconds, she wound up being absorbed in her own thoughts again.

_"I can't talk to Bakugo about what he might've told Shuzenji. Not only am I trying to pry into his personal life, something he'd rather not talk about, but I left his circle voluntarily! I called him an asshole and a jackass on the way out too! I am pretty much _dead_ in his eyes. All the more reason for me to try and avoid the topic. But...Bakugo? Spilling his guts out? Gotta admire Shuzenji-san for touching the right nerves. Whatever he told him must've been very important, very raw... I gotta figure out what exactly that is, but..._how_...?"_

**_"You're my best friend."_**

On instinct, Mina gazed towards Izuku's desk, where the green-haired boy was busy scribbling stuff in his notebook, his mouth moving almost imperceptibly as he muttered to himself. He was clearly focused on the task at hand, unlike many of the other students, who were drowsy with boredom.

As soon as she laid her eyes on Izuku, one single thought crossed Mina's mind.

_"I can talk to Midoriya! I can..."_

Her thoughts trailed off, and she was forced to clench her fists tightly with determination while she suppressed her other, more brooding thoughts about Izuku.

* * *

Mina leaned against the side of the doorway, watching as the rest of her class poured out of the room and filled the halls. She was hoping to see Izuku, preferably without the company of their nerdy, judgmental class representative and all his friends. The ganguro couldn't help but shudder at the thought of having to interact with him while trying to get Izuku to talk to her.

_"Hopefully I see Iida and his pals walk outta here without Midoriya,"_ Mina thought. _"I may have helped them catch that perv Mustard, but...Iida's still a nerd. I still can't handle the sight of nerds."_

Just then, Katsuki stepped out of the room, followed closely by Yuga. She froze on the spot as his eyes landed upon her.

"Traitor..." he spat bitterly before walking off. Yuga stayed behind for a few moments to shake his head disapprovingly at her and tutting before loyally following the ashy-blond.

Once the two were gone, Mina leaned against the wall again and buried her face in her palms.

_"Ohhhh, what's the use?"_ she thought. _"Whatever Bakugo's hiding, it can't be all that good. And...if he finds out that I've been snooping around in his personal life, he'll shut me out even more! Or worse, he'll ruin my life, make it a living hell!" _

She gritted her teeth in rage and disgust as she dug her face deeper into her palms._ "Argh! Who the hell am I kidding? If I know I can't get to the bottom of this, then what was the point?! No, wait! There was a point to this, wasn't there?! I'm not doing this out of pure curiosity, am I?! I'm just doing this because I'm hoping I'll make Bakugo feel better somehow, and then he will bring me back into his group! That's it, isn't it, Mina?! You...You don't give a flying fuck about Bakugo or Midoriya! You're just concerned about yourself...as usual! Fucking hell, you're fucking STUPID, Mina!"_

"Ashido?"

Mina lifted her face from her palms and saw Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta standing in front of her.

"O-Oh!" Mina replied while trying to compose herself. "H-Hey, Kirishima-"

"Were...Were you _crying_, Ashido?" Eijiro asked, stunned.

"What?! Me, _crying_! HA! What the hell makes you think that-"

"You've got runny makeup all of your cheeks," interrupted Hanta.

"Oh, the makeup?! W-Well, i-it does that sometimes!"

"_Sometimes_?"

"This is the first time I've ever seen _that_ happen-" began Denki.

"Well, it happens, alright?!" snapped Mina. "So just drop it, you guys! 'Kay?! Will you please frigging drop it?!"

"Okay, okay! We'll drop it! Jeez!"

While Denki and Hanta backed off from Mina, Eijiro remained. He looked towards the doorway in curiosity.

"So..." he said, "who're you waiting for, Ashido?"

"No one," Mina replied while snobbishly sticking up her chin.

The redheaded boy looked at her, unconvinced. "It's Midoriya, isn't it?"

Mina's face turned cherry-red in an instant. "Mi-_Midoriya_?! Wh-What makes you think _that_?!"

"Well, you weren't with us during lunch, and I figured you'd be with us since you broke off with Bakugo and helped us..." Eijiro's voice trailed off as soon as Mina looked away sadly. "Ohhh... I touched a nerve, didn't I...?"

"Gee, whaddaya _think_...?"

Eijiro blinked before taking a step closer. "Yo, Ashido... Mind telling me what happened...?"

"Nothing happened, alright?! Didn't I tell you to frigging _drop it_, idiot?"

"You told us to drop the bit about your makeup. You did not tell us to drop any other topic." Then, Eijiro took a slow step backward out of caution. "But if you don't wanna-"

Overburdened by irritation, confusion, and anger, Mina finally snapped. "Look, Bakugo kicked me out, alright?! THERE! Ya happy now, Kirishima?!"

Eijiro stood there, stunned. "Ba-Bakugo...kicked you _out_?"

"I...I tried hanging out with him again, but...h-he wouldn't have it..." Mina sniffled and wiped her nose. "He and all of the others pretty much treated me like shit and forced me away. That's why I wasn't with you guys during lunch."

"Jeez Louise, Ashido," Denki said from the side. "Why the hell did you- OOF!"

Hanta lowered his elbow as he remarked, "Look, don't worry about it, Ashido. We're still your friends. We can still hang-"

"No, man!" Denki interrupted suddenly. "Not yet! We gotta get our Hero Club affairs straight first!"

Mina stared at the two boys incredulously. "Hero Club?" she asked. "What the hell is _Hero Club_?"

Eijiro and Hanta both shot accusatory glares at Denki before the former replied, "N-Nothing! It's-It's nothing, Ashido! It's some, uh, s-some dumb show that Kaminari got into very recently!"

However, Mina stared at the trio of boys, totally unconvinced.

**_"So... You're suggesting...we find crimes to solve? Is that what you're saying, Kirishima?"_**

_"I wonder if this Hero Club thing is what Midoriya was talking about with Kirishima..."_ she thought.

Just then, once the last of the students poured out of the classroom, Mina heard a familiar voice call out cheerfully, "Hey, Midoriya!"

_"Great."_ For some reason, Mina ground her teeth together while refraining from furiously scratching the wall behind her, an act that Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta noticed. _"That chubby bitch Uraraka is talking to him. I bet she has the hots for him. She's always so supportive of him and-and stuff. Stupid round-cheeked bitch..."_ Then, she blinked in surprise at her own thoughts. _"GAH! The fuck am I _thinking_?!"_

"Oh!" Mina couldn't help but imagine Izuku's smile as he spoke. "Hey, guys!"

"We lost track of you during lunch!" Ochako replied. "Where'd you and the others run off to?"

"W-Well, uhhh... W-We had to settle some final things..."

"Well _that's_ clearly a lie," Denki whispered to Hanta, who nodded with a cheeky grin.

"We're going to hold a studying session in the library nearby," Momo said. "Do you want to come with us, Midoriya?"

"The math test is next week," added Tenya, "and it's not good for you academically should you fail it."

Mina rolled her eyes. _"Obviously."_

Then, to her surprise, she heard Izuku reply, "S-Sorry, you guys. I have to get home right away. M-My mom needs me f-for something."

"Oh," Ochako replied with slight disappointment. Then, her voice became bubbly again. "Hey, maybe we should walk you home! We should get to know your mom a lil' more! We barely saw her at the hospital-"

"S-Sorry, you guys," Izuku interrupted. "Sh-She's not in the mood f-for guests right now. Bu-But I'll invite you guys over some other time! I promise!"

"Oh." Mina could read the suspicion in Ochako's voice. "O-Okay."

"Whatever matter your mom needs attending to," added Tenya, "I hope it is not too burdening, and that it is resolved in a quick, orderly manner."

"Th-Thank you, Iida," Izuku replied gratefully. "I'm-I'm sure it's nothing."

"Hopefully! After all, you need to make sure your academics are dealt with as well! Your chances of graduating from this school are what's most important, after all!"

Mina rolled her eyes again. _"Of _course_ Iida would rationalize his concern with studying. Typical geek."_

"Okay," Ochako said. "Well, we'll see you tomorrow, Midoriya!"

"O-Okay! B-Bye, guys!"

Several seconds later, Mina tensed up when five students exited the classroom. Of course, there was Ochako, Tenya, and Momo, but accompanying them were Shoto and Yui. She tried looking away but they already noticed her presence beside Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta.

"Ashido?" Ochako asked, surprised. "What're _you_ doing here? You're never one to stick behind when school ends."

"H-Huh?!" Mina looked at the quintet with a blushing face. "No-Nothing! I'm-I'm not doin' anything s-suspicious o-or an-anything like th-that!"

The chestnut-haired girl blinked, then she looked into the classroom. In that moment, Mina knew she was looking toward Izuku in concern. She was about to bring that up when Eijiro did instead.

"Look, guys!" The redhead defensively stepping between the ganguro and Tenya. "I can vouch for her! She's not here to do anything shady to Midoriya! Promise!"

None of the, responded, worrying Mina. Then, with a tight-lipped face and a straight posture, Tenya stepped forward and, with his eyeglasses glinting...held out his hand. The ganguro eyed it warily, as if she feared the class representative was going to use it against her as a weapon.

"I didn't see you at all during lunch," the class representative said. "But I just wanted to thank you for your assistance in detaining Mustard for the authorities. You were the first of Bakugo's friends to leave him in favor of the greater good. For that action, you have gained my respect."

Mina was taken aback by Tenya's words. "O-Oh..." she replied while trying to push away the memories of Katsuki's angry face. "Y-You're welcome..." She swallowed. "It... I-It had to be done-"

"Ashido," Momo said, "we know you risked your friendship with Bakugo, _and_ your popularity in school, to help us out. It must've not been easy for you."

To Izuku's surprise, a dark, ambiguous expression filled Mina's face. "Well, to be honest," she responded, "it was easier than I expected..."

"Either way, I'm grateful to know you have decided to make a change for the better."

Mina sighed and lowered her face slightly. "Yeah. A...A change for the better..."

There was a short, awkward silence, during which Tenya stared at Mina with slight concern. Then...

"Ashido?"

Mina looked back up at the bespectacled boy. "Y-Yeah?"

"Why don't we walk you home?"

The ganguro's eyes widened. "You guys...walking me _home_?"

"Oh, yes!" Ochako suddenly exclaimed in a chipper voice. "That sounds like a _great_ idea, Iida!"

"Come with us, Ashido," Momo added, giving the other girl a gentle smile. "We insist."

Mina stared at Ochako, Tenya, Momo, Shoto, and Yui, her eyes trembling apprehensively. Then, she turned toward Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta.

_"They...They all wish to be my...my _friends_...?"_ she thought with perplexity. _"Even after everything we've been through? Even after all the things I've called them in the past? This...This is too good to be true..."_

**_"GO ON AND WALK AWAY, ASHIDO! BUT KNOW THIS, YOU ARE NEVER GONNA EAT AT THIS TABLE EVER AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME, YOU LITTLE BITCH?! YOU'RE NEVER GONNA BE SOMEBODY AT THIS SCHOOL EVER AGAIN!"_**

With pursed lips, she shook her head.

"N-No thanks," she said. "I actually have to talk to Midoriya." She zeroed her sights in on Eijiro. "A-About something."

In the corner of her eye, Mina could see Denki and Hanta looking at one another in worry.

"S-Sa-Same with us!" stuttered a hesitant Denki.

"O-Oh." Ochako was surprised by the responses, as were Tenya and Momo. "Well...i-if you say so, Ashido."

"We will respect your wishes and be on our way, then," Tenya said with a brief nod. Then, he glared at Denki and Hanta, both of whom cowered under his visage. "You two, please watch yourselves with Midoriya. As your class representative, and a friend of Midoriya's, I expect you two will be on your best behavior."

"Wh-Why're you talking to _us_ like we're still the enemy!" Denki cried with disbelief.

"Yeah!" added Hanta. "I thought we were cool, you guys!"

"It's alright, Iida," Eijiro piped up before Tenya could respond. "I'll keep an eye on 'em."

"Thank you for your generosity, Kirishima," the class representative replied. "And you four, please make sure all of your matters with Midoriya are quick. I'm not sure if any of you are aware of it, but he needs to get home quickly. His mother is requesting his assistance as soon as possible."

Eijiro nodded. "Sure thing, Iida. We'll make it quick."

Tenya nodded back at him before leaving. Momo and Shoto followed him while Ochako and Yui stayed behind for a brief moment.

"Remember, Kaminari, Sero," Ochako said accusingly, "Midoriya's my friend, and he'll tell me if you've still been treating him in _any_ way!"

"Okay, okay!" Denki cried with his hands raised. "Chill, girl! We're not gonna do anything!"

Ochako scowled at him and Hanta before turning around on her heel and walking away. Yui delivered one parting stare of cold, chilling suspicion before stiffly turning around and following her cousin. Once the quintet was out of earshot, Denki and Hanta turned to one another.

"What the _hell_, man?!" exclaimed Hanta.

"Yeah!" Denki replied. "After all we did for 'em, they're still such big geeky dicks!"

"Frigging hell, why should we give a flying fuck about what they have to say about Midoriya?!"

Their conversation was cut off by Mina's angry sigh. They looked at him and saw the ganguro was shaking her head with disappointment.

"To be honest, you two," she said, "it's because you're being suck-ups."

"Suck-ups?!" Denki snapped. "What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean, Ashido?!"

"It means you stick with whoever's the biggest and baddest kid in this school at the moment!"

"I know what it means! But what exactly are you trying to say?!"

"Last month, you two were following Bakugo like faithful dogs with their owner. But ever since Midoriya sa-saved us from those...those _pervs_, you've been trying to stick beside him. It's like Bakugo never existed to you two in the first place!"

"Hey, we are NOT suck-ups!" Hanta cried. "We...We just decided to turn over a new leaf-"

"Overnight? Just like that?" Mina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you guys sure saw the light."

"Yeah, well, look who's talking!" Denki replied angrily. "You were just as quick to start lickin' Midoriya's ass as the rest of us! And it's like what Four-Eyes said! You were the first of us to do so-"

"Well, at least I _have_ a really good reason to change my opinion of Midoriya."

"He saved you just like the rest of us! What the hell is the difference supposed to be?!"

Mina opened her mouth and tried to speak, but her voice was suddenly trapped in her throat. She stared at Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta in rising fear, Denki's words having triggered something in her. She could feel the hallway growing colder and damper, with the darkness creeping in from every corner and threatening to consume her. And most of all, Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta were slowly transforming into-

"Ashido?"

Pulled back into reality, Mina shook her head and quickly felt a source of radiating warmth beside her. Looking, she saw it was Izuku, who had finally finished packing up his things and left the room. She could feel her face slowly burn up as she tried to recompose herself.

"Y-Yeah, th-that's me..." The ganguro girl flashed him an awkward smile. "L-Listen, I, uhhh...I-I wanted to talk to you a-about something... I-If that's alright with you!"

Izuku tensed up with caution for a moment before replying, "S-Sure. Wh-What'd you wanna talk about?"

Mina opened her mouth to speak, but only a decibel made it out before someone else spoke up.

"MIDORIYA, BUDDY!"

Izuku yipped in surprise as a blur of pink burst through the mass of students walking down the halls. Mina could only be flabbergasted as the same blur slapped Izuku's shoulder with so much unintended force that the green-haired boy nearly fell over.

"_Hatsume_?!" Izuku squeaked.

The otaku girl saluted. "That's _me_! And I must say, today's club meeting went off without a hitch! Honest opinion, I truly think everyone's gonna get into this in no time! Oh, by the way, I love the rules you wrote!"

"Rules...?" Mina asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Mei whipped her head around and spotted Mina standing there. "Oh! Who're you?"

Mina blinked twice. "You...You don't remem-?"

"Ohhh, I remember you now!" interrupted Mei as her eyes shone with realization. "You're one of the girls who helped me and Midoriya catch Mustard! You were the oversensitive one, right?!"

"Y-Y-Yes, I-" Mina finally fully processed Mei's words. "Wait, _oversensitive_?!"

Sensing a confrontation, Izuku decided to intervene. "S-So, uh, Ha-Hatsume, wh-what're you doing here?"

"I was just thinkin' 'bout what Shoda said!" Mei replied. Then, she looked at Eijiro, Denki, and Hanta. "'Bout how the Shie Hassaikai likes to-" She stopped and turned her head towards Mina. "Um, would you mind giving us some space, please? This is private club biz!"

"Private club-?" began Mina, before Denki's words returned to her memory.

**_"Not yet! We gotta get our Hero Club affairs straight first!"_**

"Ohhhhh, so _this_ is what you guys were talking about earlier!" the ganguro exclaimed. "You guys made a new club called the Hero Club, right?"

Mei froze and slowly looked at Mina. "_What_...?" she asked.

"W-Well, Kaminari mentioned your club name earlier," Mina replied.

Mei immediately shot Denki a deadly glare of silent outrage, prompting the blond to begin nervously tugging at his collar. As for Eijiro and Hanta, the two looked away awkwardly.

"A-And..." Mina continued, her voice becoming more bashful with every word, "I, uh...I kinda happened upon your room during lunch and eavesdropped on the last part of your conversation..."

"The last part of our conversation?" Izuku asked. Then, his eyes widened with shock and uncertainty. "You...Yo-You mean the part where we talk about-?"

"Finding crimes to solve," interrupted Mina. "I-I mean...th-that's what I _think_ I heard." She looked around, feeling the air becoming even more awkward by the passing second. "Uhhh, pl- please tell me I heard that wrong..."

Mei stood there, digesting Mina's revelation. Then, after taking a perfunctory glance into the classroom, she sprang forth, grabbed Mina by the wrist, and half-dragged her further down the school hal, with the boys following them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Mina cried while struggling. "Hey, hey, what'd I do?! The hell did I do?!"

This prompted Mei to stop...and pin Mina against the wall with her forearm. Izuku and Eijiro gasped and ran over to Mei, grabbing her and trying to pry her off of Mina. As for Denki and Hanta, they joined a few other students in watching the entire scene unfold with an awkward, almost perverse joy.

"Tell me," Mei said in a menacing whisper, "how much did you hear?"

"L-Like I told you! Y-You guys were saying something about finding crimes to solve!" Then, Mina's eyes widened. "Is...Is this some detective club or something?!"

Mei shrugged casually. "Eh, sorta." Then, her aggressively defensive facade reappeared with a vengeance. "What else did you hear?!"

"I-I don't know! I-"

"You said you listened in on the last part of our club meeting! When exactly did you walk in?! What's the first thing that you heard?!"

"Hatsume, calm _down_!" Izuku cried in a low but distressed voice as he kept trying to pull Mei away.

"I can't, Midoriya! The secrecy of the..." Mei eyed the onlookers before lowering her voice. "The secrecy of the Hero Club is at stake here!"

"W-Well, it won't be at stake, 'c-'cause Ashido will join!"

"Wait, what?" Eijiro asked, stunned enough by Izuku's declaration that he stopped trying to pry Mei away from Mina.

As for Mina, she watched as Izuku continued to speak, his words seemingly guided by split-second-long decisions.

"I vouch for her, Hatsume! She can join the Hero Club! She'll join!" The boy then looked straight at her with his stunning viridescent eyes. "Won't you, Ashido?"

"Uhhhhh..." Mina was at a loss for words. "W-Well, I...I, uhhhhh..."

"Well?" Mei asked, her roughhousing subsiding in an instant.

_"W-Well..."_ Mina thought, her mind racing as she pondered her next decision. _"If it means getting a chance to speak with Midoriya in private, 'cause it seems like his time is gonna be preoccupied by these guys..."_

The ganguro didn't waste anymore time, and she blurted out, "Okay, yes! I'll join!"

Mei blinked slowly, then she released Mina, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, the otaku girl shot a glare towards the onlookers, prompting them to resume whatever it was they were doing. Once they realized the situation had been resolved, Denki and Hanta joined up with the others.

"I didn't hear that last part!" Hanta said. "What happened?"

Mei ignored his query. Instead, she faced Mina and saluted respectfully.

"Congratulations! You have just been accepted into the Hero Club, the place where ordinary, mild-mannered high-school students gather to become crime-fighters!"

* * *

**A/N:** Well, that marks the end of this chapter! So, after spending an entire chapter without Mina, I am making up for all that lost time with an entire chapter dedicated to showing Mina's point-of-view of things! And it looks like the Hero Club might already have itself a new member!

Also...what dark secret could Bakugo be hiding...?

Now, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:

**-MarvelNinja10:**

**1)** Yes, Mei definitely put the moves on Tenya...literally! Too bad it was just meant to be a diversionary tactic...or was it? ;)

**2)** Well, judging by what Mei was about to say, it looks like the Hero Club is about to have another crime on their hands, one that they need to fight!

**3)** No, Hitoshi won't enter the picture just yet, but he will soon!

**4)** Yeah, I know what you're talking about. I've seen a number of good Izuku-in-Class-1-B AU fics that I really enjoy yet are seldom updated, if ever. It really ticks me off to no end. Fortunately, if all goes well, I'll have enough reading material to cover, at minimum, the entire first season of the anime, but from a Class 1-B perspective. Plus, I'll be tackling another rare-pair for Izuku. Well, it is not exactly a rare-pair, seeing as there's a considerable following, but I'm hoping my work will help it become more mainstream. ;)

**-****xnickyx123:** If you were really interested in this fic, then maybe you could do me a favor and be more in-depth in your next review (as in, the review you're going to post for this chapter). What did you like about the chapter? What did you not like? Any comments or beliefs that I should know about? Any questions you might have? I'm sorry if it sounds like I am asking too much from you, but this is a rule of mine that applies to all my readers and reviewers. In-depth feedback of any kind is appreciated, because I personally can't settle for perfunctory compliments such as "Good job" or "I liked this chapter" or the dreaded "Please update". Maybe if I was still fifteen years old, I would've, but 24-year-old university student me...not so much.

**-Raizen1125:**

**1)** Honestly, you should see my fics "The Way We Will Be" and "Fate/Rule Zero". I haven't updated those in months! It's all just a matter of preference. XD

**2)** Sorry about the absence of IzuMina in the last chapter. Hopefully this chapter alleviates your concerns. If it didn't, the next chapter will definitely take the cake. :)

**3)** "Untrained teenagers taking on a massive criminal organization." Yes, because that has gone well before, am I right? XD Joking aside, you're going to see some deconstruction going on down the road...

**-Mr. Albatross (guest reviewer):**

**1)** Hey! Thank you for your honesty. To be honest, I had a hard time with writing all these characters and interactions. I can now see where my problems were coming from, and it's actually something that's plagued me in another fic of mine. Your feedback has been useful for me going forward.

**2)** Since you mentioned the (over)abundance of dialogue masking the scene transition from the cafeteria to the Manga & Anime Club room, I realize I should've included a line of dialogue clarifying the group was heading to the club room. My bad.

**3)** Actually, while most of the story will be from Izuku's POV, we will steadily start experiencing things from the POVs of other characters. This entire chapter is an example of that, while the first portion of Chapter 12 was about Mei. Just a lil' heads-up on that. But yes, I hear you when you mentioned the third-person omniscient. I'll definitely zero in on a single POV next time I do a meeting.

**4)** A secondary purpose of this fic was just to give some exposure to characters underrepresented in the manga and the anime, such as most of the Class 1-B body. That's why you're seeing a trove of unrecognizable characters mingling with familiar ones. Although I probably should've eased up on the amount of characters in one scene.

**5)** Yes, there'll be consequences with Izuku just accepting this even after he acknowledged the perils of being a real-life superhero. Obviously, I can't show them now, so do bear with this flip-flop for a moment.

**6)** Well, Mina's here! If the IzuMina interactions were minimal to you, don't worry, because the next chapter will delve a little deeper into that topic.

**7)** Just so you know, Ochako's not a member. Yet.

**8)** Yes, I may need to use some of Horikoshi's tactics when it comes to a large cast of characters. Thanks for the heads-up!

**9)** Thank you so much for your generosity! Yes, I do want to get better as I go along writing this. It may be a little rough down the road, and I may have some trouble implementing your feedback and the feedback of others in future chapters. But know that I have no intention of letting this fic's quality go on a downward spiral. And know that I am trying my best here. I'm only human. Just keep submitting your feedback and I'll do whatever I can to make this fic consistently great from start to finish.

**-Guest reviewer:**

**1)** Thanks! I'm glad my writing style's organized enough for you to follow!

**2)** I'm SO glad you asked that question! I'm pretty surprised no one's thought of this yet. Yes, Stain will be factored into this AU. How, I can't say right now. ;)

Well, hope you enjoyed this somewhat late chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE! And always remember...PLUS ULTRA!


	15. Heroes Counterattack

**A/N:** I'm so, so sorry this chapter took a while for me to release, you guys. In the time since the release of the previous chapter, I've accumulated a lot on my plate.

First off, the coronavirus, obviously. My home state was one of the first to issue a statewide "stay-at-home order", which really, really, REALLY screwed up my schedule for everything, both school-related and writing-related. I had to make a lot of major adjustments to my plans and schedules, which did wonders for my mental health (obvious sarcasm is obvious).

And then, there was the magical thing known as school. Even before the pandemic came to a huge head here in the U.S. and across the globe, I was quite preoccupied with my studies. After all, it was my last semester at college, and I would be graduating very soon with a Bachelor's Degree in Literature & Writing Studies (in layman's terms, English). Things got even more complicated when the coronavirus outbreak became a pandemic and the stay-at-home orders were issued. It was both a convenience and an inconvenience at the same time, because while it gave me greater opportunities to write this chapter and others, I had to transition to a spanking-new online format for my college studies. It was difficult at first but I was able to overcome the obstacles in the end.

And now, after many years of hard work, I'm officially done with my studies and am technically an alumni of my school! HOORAY! Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, my commencement ceremony had to be postponed indefinitely due to safety concerns, and I still have yet to hear about an official rescheduled date. So right now, I am technically stuck in a limbo, having no official diploma or recognition of graduation from my college, but having also completed all of the units I needed to graduate. Now isn't that sweet? XD :P

In my spare time, I've been coming up with so many potential ideas for another "My Hero Academia" fic. In fact, as I'm sure you already noticed, I posted another "My Hero Academia" fic, called "Rei Todoroki: Pro Hero!". It's another AU fic, but unlike "Hero Club", it's a loosely-connected series of one-shots that are more compliant with the canon timeline. As for what the fic's about, well, the title should speak for itself. Go check it out if and when you're able!

There's more to my announcement, but I'm going to save that for my ending Author's Note. Any more of this and I know I'm going to bore you and make you skip through this entire thing. I know I would. XP XP XP

Alright, I think that's about it for my little bout of rambling! On with the long-awaited chapter. ENJOY!

**P.S.:** Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:

-Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer  
-Avoid close contact with people who are sick  
-Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)  
-Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly  
-Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to

And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:

-Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough  
-Not sharing food and drinks with others  
-Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)  
-Avoiding close contact with others  
-Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects  
-Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)  
-Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)

If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

* * *

"Yo, tubby boy! Another one!"

Nirengeki Shoda glared at the trio of boisterous thugs that were seated in the table closest to the counter. One was large and burly with a receding hairline and the kanji for "doom" tattooed on his shining forehead. Another was bald and lanky, and he sported a crooked nose and a pair of beady eyes. The third was somewhat smaller than his compatriots and frail-looking, but his eyes made up for that appearance with their wild, hungry-looking pupils. Before them were large bowls full of ramen noodle soup of various flavors, as well as ovular plates holding a multitude of appetizers.

Then, Nirengeki looked over his shoulder and saw his parents working in the kitchen with their sole coworker. His mother looked up towards the thugs' table for a moment, and the stout boy could see the glimmer of fear in her eyes.

With gritted teeth, he looked back at the thugs and flashed them his usual fake smile.

"Sure thing, sir. And for our..._favorite customers_...i-it's on the house."

_"As usual,"_ he added in his head.

"_Yeeeeeaaaaah_!" the trio chorused enthusiastically before clinking their beer bottles together.

Taking a deep breath, Nirengeki looked over his shoulder again. He could see his father's face hardening even further as he cooked the broth, while his mother had to choke back a sob. The coworker, on the other hand, made his apprehension and terror as clear as day. The boy pursed his lips before speaking.

"Mom, Dad," he said, "I think I'll take a break. Can one of you take the register for me? I'm gonna throw the trash out."

"I'll do it," replied Nirengeki's father. "Tameda, you've got the broth."

"S-Su-Sure thing, Sh-Sh-Shoda-s-sa-sama," stuttered the young man, lowering the cutting board holding minced meat.

Nirengeki did not wait for his father to emerge from the kitchen. He removed his apron, hung it on the rack next to him, and strolled through the family restaurant. Everywhere he looked, all of the other tables were unoccupied, which left the whole atmosphere lifeless and dreary.

"Ahhh, where ya going, tubby?!" called one of the thugs, his voice slightly slurred. "Come on, let us beat on that tummy of yers, see how it jiggles!"

Nirengeki clenched his fists as jeering laughter assaulted his eardrums. He mustered all of his composure and discipline to avoid kicking the trashcan over in a fit of rage. Instead, he picked it up as calmly as he could, opened the front door, and stepped out into the cold night. The stout boy stared longingly towards the mountains where the Sun had set a few moments earlier, and he sniffled.

Then, he was about to approach the dumpster when he heard a faint voice.

"Pssst! Shoda! Hey, Shoda!"

"Huh?" Nirengeki looked around, stunned and confused. "Wh-What?"

"Over here!" the voice called quietly. Nirengeki glanced at the alleyway beside the restaurant, but he saw nothing there. "No, the other way!"

Nirengeki looked at the alleyway on the other side of the building. To his surprise, he saw a group of colorfully costumed figures. It didn't take him long to figure out who they were.

"W-What-?!" Then, Nirengeki looked into the shop to see if the occupants were in earshot, before lowering his voice. "W-What're you guys _doing here_?!"

"We're here to help you!" Mei cried, lowering her kerchief from her mouth and removing her steampunk goggles to show her face.

"_Help me_?!" Fear washed over Nirengeki's face. "Wh-Wh-Whaddaya mean 'help me'?!"

"You mentioned the Shie Hassaikai liked to eat your parents' ramen," replied Izuku, who was in his Yamikumo costume.

"When was this?!"

"Earlier today, in the club room!"

"Yeah!" added an enthusiastic Mei. "So we figured liberating your ramen shop would be the best way for the Hero Club to make its first mark on the community!" She started punching the air. "And what better way to instill fear in the hearts of criminals than to hit the Shie Hassaikai where it hurts: their stomachs!"

"You make it sound like we have to burn down the building..." deadpanned Eijiro, who was in his Crimson Riot cosplay.

Nirengeki worriedly looked back into the shop. Once it was clear no one inside was overhearing the conversation, the boy ushered the others further into the alleyway, following them inside.

"Look, guys," he said, "I appreciate your help, I really do. I-" At that moment, he noticed the others. "Wait, what are you guys _wearing_?"

"Oh, this?" Denki asked, proudly tugging at his jacket. "Hatsume bought these costumes for us."

"More like she was holding _onto them_..." replied Hanta while he looked down at his legs. Unlike Denki, discomfort riddled his face as he straightened out his lower limbs. "She picked these out of some...some _cosplay collection_ she had over at her home for God knows how long. Said they suited us perfectly."

"And they do, Cellophane!" Mei cried giddily while giving the two boys proud looks.

Nirengeki scanned Denki and Hanta's forms once his eyesight fully adjusted to the darkness of the alleyway. Having read _Our Hero Academia_ dozens of times, he recognized Denki and Hanta's cosplay outfits as being based on Voltcharger and Cellophane's Hero costumes.

Denki was wearing a plain white T-shirt, an open black jacket with a white lightning-shaped pattern across the back, and matching pants with two white lines running down his legs. Clipped over his right ear was a single, square earphone with a radio antenna sticking out of the top. Finally, dangling from his right hand to complete the costume was a large, black domino mask. The costume, combined with his blond hair and rascal-like face, Denki looked like he would fit in perfectly with some cyberpunk street gang.

As for Hanta, he was wearing a black-and-white, plain-looking, skintight bodysuit with a somewhat large turtleneck. The sleeves stretched midway down to his elbows and ended with yellow stripes. He also wore white-and-yellow-lined boots and silver short, tape dispenser-like bands wrapped around his waist, the sides of his thighs, his chest, and his shoulder pads. In his hands was a yellow helmet with a large black visor. Nirengeki could only imagine how accurate he would look to the Cellophane of the manga if he put on that helmet.

_"For once,"_ he thought, _"I'd say Hatsume was right."_

At that moment, Eijiro asked, "Yo, Ashido, you got anything to say? You've been awfully quiet back there."

Nirengeki's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, _Ashido's_ here?!"

Indeed, the ganguro girl slowly, uneventfully stepped out from the shadows, her submissive posture and meek demeanor a far cry from her usual reputation as a popular, sought-after seductress at school. Unlike the rest of the group, she was wearing an entirely original costume, based on nothing Nirengeki observed in _Our Hero Academia_. It consisted of a light-pink wig; a plain white eye-mask over her eyes; brown boots; and a purple-and-turquoise, skintight bodysuit colored in a camouflage pattern. To the utter dismay of Nirengeki and his hormones, the top of the bodysuit ended directly above Mina's chest, leaving the top of her cleavage slightly exposed. Mina also wore a tan waistcoat with elbow-length sleeves and a collar lined with large, fluffy fur that was joined together by two clasps, giving it the semblance of a luxury, custom scarf.

"W-W-Wh-What's A-_Ashido_ doing here?!" Nirengeki exclaimed, his voice cracking in his incredulity.

"She's a new member!" Mei replied in her chipper voice.

"She...She _joined_ the club?! H-Ho-How'd she even find out?!"

Denki could only let out a nervous chuckle in response.

"Look, Shoda," Izuku said, "Ashido can be trusted. She's a member now, so you have no reason to worry."

"I-If you insist..." replied an ambivalent Nirengeki.

Before the conversation could continue, the teens heard the front door to the shop burst open, immediately followed by a trio of drunk laughter. They retreated further into the shadowy alleyway and watched as the same thugs Nirengeki had to service earlier clambered across the street. The large, burly, forehead-tattooed man looked like he was handling his beer intake well compared to his compatriots, who were both almost tripping over one another. Nevertheless, all three looked physically diminished enough to not pose much of a threat, even if they worked together.

"Are those the thugs you were talking about, Shoda?" Izuku asked, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the trio.

"Yeah..." Nirengeki replied, a look of bitter loathing sweeping over his face. "They look so high and mighty, knowing they didn't have to pay a single yen for the food and drinks."

"They look like real assholes..." Eijiro growled.

"Alright, you guys," said Izuku as he put on his mask. "Let's get ready."

Upon remembering what his fellow club-mates were intending to do, Nirengeki stood in front of the group before any of them could leave the alley.

"N-No!" he cried in a hushed voice. "Look, I know I said I appreciated your help, you guys, bu-but I can't _do_ this! I know they're drunk and all, b-but even so, they can _definitely_ put up a good fight! Trust me, I've seen them get into fights with customers a few times before! I'm _not_ gonna risk my life protecting my parents' ramen shop!"

"Who said _you_ were gonna fight alongside us?" Denki asked.

Nirengeki blinked twice. "H-_Huh_?"

"It was Midoriya's idea," Hanta said. "He figured since those guys like to eat at your place, like you said, they'd recognize you in a jiffy if you put on your costume and helped us out. Can't risk having your ass bitten down the road if the rest of the Shie Hassaikai know who you are and where you live."

"So you're gonna play the role of innocent bystander!" Mei cried happily.

"I-Innocent _bystander_?" Nirengeki's eyes widened. "O-_Oh_! Th-That'll work!"

"So, what do you think, Shoda?" asked Izuku. "Are you good to go now?"

"Ye-Yeah, I-I guess..." Nirengeki's face started to beam with awe and excitement. "W-_Wow_... I...I dunno how exactly you guys are gonna pull this off, b-but if it works-"

"It'll work, Shoda." Izuku grinned confidently at him behind his mask. "Trust me."

"Okay... Alright, alright..." Then, Nirengeki took a deep breath to calm himself down...and then, he looked into his eyes with blazing determination. "Alright, so whaddaya want me to do, then?"

* * *

"Sooooo...whaddaya wanna do nooooow...?"

"L-Lez, uhhhhh...lez go rub sum poor sugger..."

"Say _whaaaaa_...?"

The three thugs stumbled further down the street, their faces flushed and their bellies slightly bigger. A combined stench of alcohol and poor physical hygiene hung over them like a fog. It was powerful enough that it reached the poor nostrils of Izuku, Mina, and Denki as they hid behind a bush that the trio passed by.

"Holy _crap_!" Denki squealed as he covered her nose and mouth. "We have to fight them while they're like..._that_?!"

"We've got no choice," Izuku replied. He peered over the leaves of the bush, his mask serving as a slightly efficient filter against the foul odor. "Now that these guys are drunk, there's no telling what they'll do once they come across someone walking home."

"Well, I guess they _did_ just say they wanted to rob some guy. ...I think."

Izuku watched for a few more seconds as the trio continued staggering along, with the forehead-tattooed man breaking out into a terrible, off-beat song. Then, he withdrew his head and checked on his wristwatch.

"Okay," he whispered to the others. "Listen up, guys. Shoda's gonna be calling the cops in three more minutes. We need to jump these guys in two. That way, we'll give ourselves three to five minutes to take them all down and run before the cops show up. When my watch beeps, we'll-"

"Whoa, whoa, okay, Midoriya!" interrupted a flabbergasted Denki, "C-Can you just slow down a little? Jeez, I understand we'll be kicking ass and all, but I think you're getting a little _waaaaay_ too excited about this!"

"H-Huh?" At that moment, Izuku realized he was a little out of breath. "So-Sorry, Kaminari! I-It's just, well..." He looked over his shoulder to trace the thugs' movements again. "We've been terrorized by crooks like them for far too long. It's nice to make a difference and inspire hope for a change."

"You really wanna _do_ this, don't you...?"

This time, it wasn't Denki who spoke, but Mina. Izuku was about to look at her, but once his eyes met hers, he whipped his head away, a pink hue blossoming on his cheeks.

"W-Well, o-of course," the viridescent boy stammered. He could feel the heat rising in his face.

_"Ohhhhh, _Hatsume_!"_ he thought in dismay. _"Why'd you have to pick that kind of outfit for Ashido?! Wh-Where'd you get that, anyway?! I-It looks like something a pr-pr-pro-pro-pros-_prostitute_ would wear!"_

"Well, then," Denki said as he peered over the bush, "I can now see another reason why you really liked reading manga. They inspire hope for a better future and all that other sentimental shit, am I right?"

"I-I s-su-suppose..."

"Hm." Izuku watched Denki's brow furrow. "You know, Midoriya, I never really given much thought about the future. I'm more of a here-and-now kind of guy, ya know what I'm saying?"

"Y-Yeah."

"But you know what?" Denki withdrew his head and gave Izuku a thumbs-up. "How am I gonna be living in the here and now if I've got crooks like 'em breathing down my back? So I guess I've got another reason to help you out, am I right?! Huh, am I right?!"

Izuku pursed his lips ambivalently. "Ye-Yeah...I-I guess so..."

"What about you, Ashido?" Denki looked at Mina, who squeaked in surprise at the acknowledgment. "What do _you_ have that's at stake because of these lowlifes?"

"Wh-Wh-What do _I_ have?" Mina asked, stunned.

Izuku looked at her again before he could help himself. But before he could yank his eyesight away from her scandalous-looking body and outfit, he found himself stunned by the distant, introspective look on the ganguro's face.

_"Whoa... I don't think I've ever seen Ashido look so deep in thought before. It's...It's so weird-looking... I-It's like seeing Kacchan turning into the Thinker!"_

But before Mina could give Denki some sort of answer, the trio heard the thugs speak again.

"Well, well, _well_... Looks like weh got luckeh to_night_, boys!"

Izuku, Mina, and Denki peered over the bush, and to their horror, they saw the three thugs encircling a boy wearing their school uniform, just a half-block away. Despite his large, heavyset appearance, the boy was absolutely petrified, and not a single sound was coming out of his mouth, not even his own breathing.

"Holy crap!" Denki cried in a hushed voice. Then, his expression changed from fear to familiarity. "Hey, the kid looks a lil' familiar..."

**_"H-He-Hey, O-O-Ojiro..."_**

**_"Oh, hey there, Koda! You wanna review our history homework?"_**

**_"Mm-hm, mm-hm!"_**

Izuku's eyes grew wide. "You're right! That's Koji Koda!"

Denki looked at him, confused. "Wait, who?"

"We gotta move in now!"

But before Izuku could move out of his shelter, a rapid beeping noise filled the air. His heart skipped a beat at the sound, and he looked down at his wristwatch.

Then, his heart skipped another beat when he heard another voice.

"Hey, y...ya hear that? Sounds like a dinner bell..."

"A _dinner bell_? Where da hell da ye get that from...?"

"Hey, it...it sounds like it's comin' from over there-"

"They're onto us!" Izuku cried. "We have to go now!"

There was no turning back now. Izuku had already leaped out of his hiding spot and was now running towards the three thugs. Koji was the first to spot him, followed by the three crooks. One of them, the man with the hungry-looking pupils, snorted derisively at the incoming adolescent.

"Awwwww, is that a _bunny_? So- AGH!"

Izuku had tackled him to the pavement and began restraining his arms, prompting the other two crooks to move in.

"That ain't no bunny!" the forehead-tattooed man cried, the slur in his voice slightly receding as he grabbed the back of Izuku's neck. "Just some punk in a costume! Lez fudge 'im up!"

"Ohhh, no you don't, ya sucker!"

Mei ran into the fray and whacked the burly man's leg with some sort of stick. He grunted and his face twitched in slight pain, prompting him to let go of Izuku, but the blow failed to keel him over. Nevertheless, it diverted his attention away from Izuku, allowing him to continue grappling with the thug.

"H-Hey!" the thug cried. "Yo, wh-what's the big idea?!"

Izuku gritted his teeth at the callousness at display. "You're not gonna rob Ko- I-I mean, this defenseless boy, you thief!"

With that, Izuku flipped the thug over and forcibly put his arms behind his back. The man howled and tried to resist, but his weak stature and inebriated state of mind put him at a disadvantage against even Izuku. This gave the boy an ample opportunity to pull out a roll of duct tape Hanta had given him, rip off a strip, and use it to tie the man's arms together at the wrists. He then tore out another strip and did the same thing to his legs, effectively disabling him.

"SHIT!" the thug cried. "You a cop or somethin', kid?!"

"Far from it," Izuku spat. Then, he stood up and approached Koji Koda, who had taken cover behind a mailbox that was too small to fully shelter him. He was now peering out from it like a terrified puppy. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You're safe. The police will be on their way. You can come on out."

But Koji refused to budge, prompting Izuku to backtrack.

_"Oh, no. I forgot Koda's not the most sociable one. Ohhhhh, I don't know much about him either! Why didn't I try talking to him at school?! Kacchan and the others liked to pick on him too. I need to gain his trust, but how...?"_

"Are..." Koji's voice sounded meek and almost adorable for someone his size. "Are you...a rabbit man...?"

Izuku blinked at Koji. "Huh?"

"Y-Yo-Your costume l-lo-looks like a r-ra-rab-rabbit..." Koji replied, his voice low and meek.

_"Holy whoa! That's the first time Koda's ever spoken to me! Gotta keep it cool, gotta keep it cool!"_

"Yes, I am!" Izuku replied with his chest sticking out.

_"WHY'D I SAY THAT?! I'M NOT A RABBIT MAN!"_

Koji stared at the costumed Izuku with some semblance of awe before looking over the other boy's shoulder. The larger boy's eyes grew wide, and he pointed his finger.

"Y-Yo-Your f-fr-friends are in trouble, R-Ra-Rabbit Man!"

Izuku followed Koji's finger and saw the erupting commotion. Without a second thought, he rushed back into action.

* * *

From his own hiding place in an alleyway, Eijiro watched alongside Hanta as Mei diverted the massive, forehead-tattooed man's attention away from Izuku. Then, she stood her ground and stared at him with confident, unwavering eyes.

"Damn," Hanta muttered to himself. "That Hatsume girl's got guts, I'll give ya."

_"You could say that again..."_ Eijiro thought. He took a downward glance at his empty hand before refocusing on the thug, who was staring down at the pink-haired otaku, taking note of her impromptu Hero costume.

"What, is the cosplay convention in town?" the thug asked dumbly. Then, he tilted his neck from side to side, popping it at the joints. "Eh, I don't give a shit. I don't like otakus anyway."

"Well, then," Mei replied with a wild grin, "I guess this is gonna make your defeat a lot more humiliating for you, Villain! NOW!"

Realizing their cue, Eijiro and Hanta dashed out of the alleyway and tackled the man from behind at the same time. They were soon joined by Denki, who proved to be the force they needed to topple the thug over.

"K-Kami- I-I mean, Ch-Chargebolt!" Eijiro called while he pressed his weight down on the man's back and simultaneously pinning his head to the asphalt. "Get his right arm! Ser- D-Damn! Ce-Cellophane, get his left!"

"W-Wa-Wait!" Denki cried. "My right, or his right?!"

"Your right, damn it!"

"Wha-What da fuck iz dis?!" the large thug shouted. He was trying his best to struggle against his captors' grip and ward off the strong buzz of alcohol.

"Your worst nightmare, ya punk," Eijiro snarled as he pressed the man's head further against the ground. "Come on, you guys, he's struggling!"

Denki grabbed the man's right arm and held it to his back. Meanwhile, Hanta did the same for the left, while Eijiro moved to the man's flailing legs and held them down.

"Alright!" Denki cried, straining to keep the man's right arm composed. "You got the tape, man?!"

"You betcha!" Hanta replied. Using his knees to pin the thug's left arm down, he procured a roll of duct tape, ripped off a long strip of it, and was about to use it to tie up the man's wrists when he noticed.

"H-Hey!" snapped the thug. "Whaddaya think you're _doing_?!"

Denki slapped him in the cheek. "Hey! Shut it! We're tying you up like the crook you are."

"AGH! NO! NO, DON'T BRING ME IN! I'M TOO GOOD FOR PRISON!"

The man began flailing his limbs wildly despite the restraint placed on them by the boys. Reacting quickly, Hanta dropped the roll of duct tape and held the man's left arm down with his hands again. Meanwhile, Eijiro was still trying to restrain the man's legs when one of his feet struck Eijiro squarely in the eye.

"AGH!" the redhead cried. "Ah, son of a-"

At that moment, Izuku came in and helped Hanta and Denki pin the man down with his weight. Then, he looked at Eijiro in concern as the redhead toppled off of the thug's swinging legs.

"Kiri- I mean, Red Riot!" Izuku cried, quickly taking over Eijiro's position. "Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Eijiro replied, his voice somewhat shaky. He gave the other boy a thumbs-up while holding his eye with his other hand. "D-Don't worry! It's just a lil' scratch. Help the others out!"

Meanwhile, as Denki used his strength to hold the man's arms back, Hanta got off the man's back and retrieved the roll of duct tape. He ripped off a strip with his own teeth and held it out towards the thug's arms.

"Keep his arms close together, man!" the black-haired teen ordered.

"No!" snapped the thug. "You fucking kids are gonna regret this!"

"Keep dreaming," Denki spat back.

He then used all of the strength he could muster to move the thug's arms towards one another. Now that he wasn't being backed up by anyone else, it proved to be quite a struggle for Denki, like he was attempting to join the same poles of a magnet together. Fortunately, the blond adolescent managed to keep the arms close enough for Hanta to bind them with the duct tape.

"Alright, I got it, I got it!" Hanta cried.

With that, Denki compressed his weight on the thug's torso while he turned around and helped Izuku hold the man's legs down. Hanta promptly tore out a second strip of duct tape and use it to tie the man's legs together, thus restraining him. This allowed Izuku, Denki, and Hanta to stand back up.

"You dumbasses!" the man howled. "You _dumbasses_! D'you have _any_ idea who we're working for?!"

"I think we've got a vague idea," Hanta replied calmly. Then, he tore out a third strip and taped it over the captive thug's mouth, muffling his voice. "Now shut up and wait for the cops to get you."

Now that the criminal was silenced, the boys attended to Eijiro while the thug simply writhed on the ground.

"Dude," Denki said. "You _sure_ you're alright?"

"It looked like he got you good," added Hanta as he tried to get a good look at his friend's injured eye.

"No, no," Eijiro replied urgently. "I swear, I'm fine, I'm fine. H-Hey, wh-what about Ashido?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Mei was thrown to the ground. Though she landed with a grunt, the pink-haired otaku merely glared back up at her assailant, the bald, crooked-nosed thug. He towered over her, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"Ya got a nice bod," the man commented, scanning Mei's body from head to toe with a lecherous smile. "I think I'll 'ave a lil' taste of y- OOF!"

He was cut off by Mina, who had run up to him and sucker-punched him. The man spun around from the force of the hit, before he fell to the ground, apparently unconscious. Once he was down, Mina winced and started waving her hand as if something had gotten stuck to it and she wanted it off.

"OW! OW, FUCK! GODDAMN!"

"_Wow_!" Mei exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with awe behind her goggles while she stood up. "Nice _punch_, girl!"

But Mina was reeling and holding her fist, her tanned face contorted in pain. "God, how do people punch each other and walk away like it's _nothing_?! God fucking _damn_ it! Your club had _better_ be prepared for these kinds of injuries!"

"Don't worry!" Mei gave the ganguro her widest, toothiest smile yet. "We at the Hero Club anticipate all kinds of injuries, from scrapes to bruises to cuts to gashes to-"

Mina cut her off by waving her palms at her. "Okay, okay, I'm gonna stop you right there."

"Point is, I'll have an ice-pack ready for ya tomorrow!"

Mina's eyes almost bulged out of her head. "_Tomorrow_?!"

"Hey, I didn't expect you to not take that punch so well! If you're gonna be a member of the Hero Club, then you should be trained in close-quarters combat!"

Mina scowled at the otaku. "Well, _sorry_, but I didn't get that memo."

"Well, now you know, my friend."

The ganguro blinked and then rolled her eyes. "Oh. So that's what you think we are? Friends?"

"Well, it's up to you." Then, Mei's eyes widened in surprise. "Behind you!"

Mina ducked on instinct, just in time to avoid an incoming punch from the bald, crooked-nosed thug, who had recovered and stood back up. Still somewhat inebriated by the alcohol he consumed, the man spun around lazily from the speed of his own attack. Then, he straightened himself out and put on a fighting stance that looked more pathetic than terrifying.

"S-So," the man slurred, "ya...ya wanna _fight_, eh girls?" He hiccuped softly. "Well...I'll show ya a good fight!"

He swung at Mei, but she ducked and then punched him in the side of the gut. With a grunt, the man clutched at his side with one arm and tried swinging with the other, but Mei ducked again and punched him in the other side.

"OW! God-Goddamn _betches_. Why don't...why don't ye fight like...like _real_ men- AGH! OOF!"

A disbelieving Mina had taken the time to approach him unnoticed and stick her foot out to trip him. The thug fell to the street and hit his head on the asphalt, quickly knocking him out, much to Mei's surprise.

"Wow," the otaku said. "Now that...was easy..."

"Yeah, well, what'd you think?" asked Mina while hatefully staring down at the man's motionless form. "We're going after a bunch of drunk guys, after all."

"Hey, Hatsume!" a familiar voice called. "Ashido!"

Mina looked over her shoulder and saw Izuku running up to her and Mei. As she did, Mei couldn't help but notice a light pass through the ganguro's eyes.

"Are you guys alright?!" Izuku cried.

"Y-Yeah," Mina replied, her expression suddenly turning aloof. "Why wouldn't we?" She placed a foot over the thug's back and stood over him. "We took care of this creep. I don't think he'll be waking up from that anytime soon."

"O-Okay. W-Well, ju-just to be safe..."

Izuku took out a roll of duct tape and used it to tie up the man's wrists and ankles. Once the crook's limbs were properly restrained, the viridescent boy glanced upward...only to flick his head away upon catching a split-second sight of a rather unfortunate place.

"Y-Y-You can t-ta-take y-yo-your f-fo-foot off no-now, A-As-Ashido," he stammered.

Mina blinked slowly, confused by Izuku's reaction. Then, after taking a moment to process the situation, she realized the boy was now at head-level and dangerously close with her crotch.

With a terrified squeal, the red-faced ganguro took her foot off and hurriedly scurried away from Izuku while keeping her legs closed. Mei observed the entire exchange, at first with stunned surprise, but then, her lips curled into a mischievous smirk. But before she could comment any further, a familiar wailing noise filled the air, growing closer with every passing second.

"Yo, the cops are coming!" Hanta cried from a short distance.

"We gotta skedaddle!" Denki added while attending to Eijiro.

"Alright!" Izuku replied. "Are all three of the thugs tied up?!"

"Yeah, looks like it!" Mei responded with a thumbs-up.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" cackled the forehead-tattooed thug. "Idiots. Fucking IDIOTS! Yer asking for it now!"

"Tough talk for someone who's all tied up and got beaten up by a bunch of kids," taunted Denki.

"HAHAHA! We're gonna be out of jail before any of you can say 'uncle'. We've got connections, kids! Connections with a lot of _deep_ pockets! And when we're out, we're gonna sic those connections on you kids. They're gonna hunt y'all down and make you kids pay for what you just did to us! You don't _mess_ with the likes of us!"

"Yeah, well, good luck with that," Eijiro replied while clutching his injured eye. "In fact, good luck telling your connections that you just got beaten up by a bunch of kids in costumes and that you want those kids taken care of."

The thug gritted his teeth in anger and growled into the asphalt, proving Eijiro's point.

With that, Izuku scanned his entire group. "Alright, then!" he announced. "Hero Club, let's leave! We've done enough for tonight."

The teenagers promptly ran off, leaving a confused Koji and the bound thugs in their wake.

* * *

Once Izuku and the others returned to the alleyway beside Nirengeki's restaurant, they started removing their masks or eyewear. As soon as he took off his domino mask, Denki peeked his head out of the alleyway to check on the responding police.

"Well," Hanta said upon removing his helmet, "that was, uh, surprisingly easy. I...honestly thought we'd be kicking more ass than that, but I suppose it's cuz we were going after a bunch of drunk guys."

"We're not out of the woods yet," Izuku replied once he removed his Yamikumo hood.

"Whaddaya mean, Midoriya?"

"Koda's our classmate. He could identify any of us."

"Aw _relax_, Midoriya," Denki said, withdrawing his head to look back at Izuku. "All the times I've ever looked at Koda, the dude's always had his head down. I don't think he'd recognize us."

Izuku frowned disapprovingly. _"_Looked_ at Koda? More like _picked_ on him..."_ he thought.

At that moment, the side-door to the restaurant swung open, revealing a flustered Nirengeki.

"Oh, thank God!" he exclaimed, his voice cracking in the process. "I was so worried you guys wouldn't be standing here!"

"Well, what'd ya _think_ was gonna happen, Shoda-kun?!" cried Mei, her smile wide while she gave her fellow club member a thumbs-up. "We're the Hero Club! We take down Villains, not the other way 'round!"

"W-We-Well, I-" Nirengeki paused upon seeing Eijiro, who was still holding his eye. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what happened to Kirishima?!"

Everyone else looked at the redhead, and Mina immediately sprung to action.

"Kirishima!" she squeaked. "A-Are you alright?!"

"No, no, I'm fine!" Eijiro cried suddenly with a raised hand. "I'm fine, I'm fine. It's just a scratch."

He finally lowered his hand away from his eye, and the others grimaced in an instant.

"_Dude_!" Denki cried.

"That is NOT a scratch!" Hanta added.

Izuku merely remained silent as he stared into Eijiro's right eye. There was a vertical cut running across his brow, and a trickle of blood was oozing down to his eye, which was now screwed shut.

Then, Izuku's emerald pupils slowly gravitated toward the redhead's chipped teeth, still reminiscent to those of a shark. As he did, he could feel guilt and doubt tugging at his resolve again. But before those feelings could overwhelm him, he heard Mina's voice reaching him.

"Midoriya! Hey! Hey, _Midoriya_!"

Izuku shook his head to clear his stupor, and he found himself looking into the ganguro's eyes. He couldn't help but feel a strange sense of nostalgia from them.

"H-Huh? Wh-What?"

"Do you have any bandages?!" she asked worriedly.

Izuku glanced at the others. "Does...Does no one else _have_ them?!"

Denki and Hanta guiltily shook their heads, while Mei had her head lowered ambiguously.

"No, no, no!" Eijiro cried. "I'm serious, guys, I-I'm fine-"

"You're bleeding quite a bit, Kirishima!" Nirengeki cried in desperation. Then, he took a few deep breaths, but they failed to assuage him. "I...I was hoping it wouldn't come down to this, b-but I've got first-aid kits in the restaurant."

"Well?!" Mina snapped. "Go get 'em!"

Nirengeki nodded and went back into the restaurant before Eijiro could stop him.

"_Jeez_!" The redhead promptly held his hand over his eye again, a wince passing through his expression as he did. "I just _told_ you guys, it's a scratch!"

"It could get _infected_, Kirishima!" replied Mina. "The last thing I want is you losing your sight in that one eye! GAH!" She threw her white eye-mask onto the ground. "I _knew_ this was a stupid idea! I knew it!"

"Hey, we _saved_ someone tonight, Ashido! _You_ saved someone!"

"But at what cost?!"

"Ashido, you don't even _know_ if this is gonna get infected! It's just a damn cut! Besides, doesn't what you just did make you _feel_ good?!"

"It-!" Mina stopped, and her panicked expression slackened. "It..."

"_It_?" Eijiro asked in anticipation.

"It..." Then, the ganguro gritted her teeth and looked away. "It felt alright, 'kay?! But it doesn't mean what happened to your eye was worth it, Kirishima! If this is the price we're gonna pay for sticking our necks out for people, then...then I don't know if I want to commit to it in the long term!"

"Hey!"

It wasn't Eijiro who had spoken. Mina turned towards Mei and saw that the pink-haired otaku was staring daggers at her. It was such a stark, drastic departure from her usual cheery, hyperactive self that it stunned Mina into silence. With that, Mei marched up to the ganguro and jabbed at her sternum with an index finger.

"You signed up for the Hero Club," Mei snarled in warning, "you're in it for life! It takes a lot of damn guts, what you did and what you were willing to do!"

"What I was _willing_ to do?!" Mina repeated upon regaining her resolve. "I-I thought it was an...an _opportunity_ for me to turn my life around for the better, but...but I never expected _this_!" She glared at Izuku, Denki, and Hanta. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't think I can keep doing this! Especially not after..."

Words suddenly failed her in that moment. Her voice trailed off, and her legs started to shake badly. Eyes widening with concern, Denki stepped forward with an outstretched hand.

"Yo, Ashido," he said. "You...You okay?"

The moment he touched her shoulder, a wild, feral look filled the ganguro's eyes. She grabbed her friend's wrist with all of the strength she could muster, and then spun him around until he slammed into the exterior restaurant wall.

"OW!" Denki tried to glare at Mina. "Goddamn, Ashido! What was _that_ all about-?"

"Don't. Touch. _Me_."

Izuku's skin crawled at the ominous tone lacing Mina's voice. _"Holy whoa, she's mad!"_

"Okay, okay, Ashido!" Denki squealed, his eyes widening at the girl's toxic glare. "Chill, chill!"

With a huff, Mina let go of her friend and began panting and sweating, as if she had just got done with a long jog. Then, when reality set back in, Mina slowly looked at her own arm, her pupils becoming shaky...

The backdoor to the restaurant burst open, eliciting a terrified scream from Mina and startling the others.

"I got the first-aid kit, Kirishima!" Nirengeki announced with relief. "Now lemme take a look at-"

He stopped upon seeing the mortified Mina, who looked dangerously close to crumpling on her feet.

"Ummmmm...wh-wh-what'd I miss...?"

* * *

The night sky was painted in red and blue as yet another police vehicle drove onto the crime scene. The doors flew open, and Detectives Shinji Nishiya and Yu Takeyama stepped out. They scanned the scene, watching as junior officers finished cordoning off the area and setting up barricade tape. Nishiya narrowed his eyes and released a soft, elongated exhale, a lifelong habit of his whenever he sensed something off in the air.

"Nishiya!" a voice called. "Takeyama!"

Nishiya and Takeyama turned their heads towards the shorter yet imposing man standing right beside a dark police van. The man had gray eyes and equally gray, combed hair with a pointed fringe that obscured his right side. He was wearing a brown overcoat and still had fresh bandages on his left cheek.

"Sergeant Kamihara," Takeyama droned lifelessly.

Kamihara beckoned them to come over to him. With that, Nishiya and Takeyama walked up to the police van, and soon, the former was stunned to see its rear doors open, revealing the occupants inside.

"Well, well, well," Nishiya said, his lips curling into a sardonic smirk. "Look at what the cat dragged in. Again."

"Eh, laugh it up all ye want, _Detective_," the forehead-tattooed thug replied, raising his handcuffed hands slightly. "We're gonna be outta here within the hour and you know it. So just cut us loose while we're still ahead, huh?"

"I'll see what the boss has to say before I make any decisions." Nishiya turned towards the gray-haired man. "Fill me in, Sergeant. What'd they do this time?"

"They tried to rob that kid over there," Kamihara replied. He pointed towards a nearby cruiser, where Nishiya saw a large yet meek-looking boy being interrogated by another police officer.

"Yeah? Well, what else is new?"

"Well, this is. _Apparently_, our friends here were ambushed by a group of kids before they could carry out the deed."

Takeyama's head perked up for what seemed to be the first time today. She turned his head towards his sergeant, a tiny glimmer in her eyes as she repeated, "_Ambushed_?"

"Yeah. The kids restrained them and left. The first responding officers found them hogtied."

"We demand that you find those kids and arrest their sorry frigging asses!" the bald, crooked-nosed man snapped, while his compatriots nodded in agreement.

"Okay, okay," Nishiya said, his eyelid twitching. "So...you want to press charges." He pulled out a pen and notepad while giving them a noticeable grimace. "Would you mind giving me some descriptions?"

"That's the thing, Nishiya," Kamihara replied, his eyes narrowed. "They say the kids were in _costumes_."

Nishiya paused for a moment before clicking off his pen. "Costumes."

"Yeah, genius," the wild-eyed thug growled. "_Costumes_."

"It was like an otaku convention was in town," added the forehead-tattooed man.

"The kid they rescued can also verify that," Kamihara said.

"I see." The corners of Nishiya's lips twitched. "Well...case closed, I guess."

Kamihara and Takeyama glared at him with exasperation, while the three thugs slowly scowled. With that, the forehead-tattooed man stood up from his seat, showing off his burly composure to the detective.

"You sure have an attitude, _Detective_..." the thug snarled. Then, he focused on Kamihara and gave him a haughty wave. "Sergeant, please remind this jackass about his duties."

"Nishiya," Kamihara whispered harshly. "You know better than that."

"Well, what else can we do, Sergeant? If their assailants were costumed as they say, then there's no way they can make a positive ID on any of them."

"I got one of 'em!" snapped the forehead-tattooed man. "I _know_ I hit one of 'em! They were complainin' like a _bitch_!"

"Did you see where exactly you hit this person?" asked Nishiya.

"Now how am I supposed to know that when I've got two other jackasses riding on top of me like I'm a damn bronco?!"

"Oh, oh, what about their voices?!" exclaimed the wild-eyed man. "We still remember their voices! Just make 'em speak, a-and we can-"

Nishiya slowly glared at the trio, his pleasure barely contained. "I can still smell the _booze_ coming off you three. There is _no way_ you three can make a reliable ID, voice or otherwise. Besides..." He began counting with his fingers. "Attempted robbery, menacing, public intoxication? God knows what else you did tonight."

The thugs glared at Kamihara, almost expecting him to intervene on their behalf. However, the sergeant remained silent and was simply writing something on his notepad. As for Takeyama, she was staring at the thugs with slight amusement.

"From where I'm standing," continued Nishiya, "it sounds like these kids you're describing were Good Samaritans, acting for that kid's best interests. Them fleeing and wearing costumes is suspicious behavior, but I think a lawyer can come up with a number of reasonable explanations."

The forehead-tattooed thug gritted his teeth. "You're _enjoying_ this, aren't you?"

Nishiya shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there's not much we can do for you three in that regard."

But the detective's lips twitched again, which the thug quickly noticed. He tightly clenched his handcuffed fists, but a sly sneer crawled upon his face.

"Laugh all ya want, _Detective_," he said. "But don't you forget for a _second_ who we're working for. When we're bailed out, we're gonna sic our friends on the high school."

Nishiya's face paled slightly, and even the amusement faded away from Takeyama's face. Nishiya flexed his fingers subtly as he cleared his throat.

"Is that a _threat_ I'm hearing?" he asked, trying his best to sound calm.

"Ah, no, not at all!" The thug's sneer turned into a halfhearted grin of friendliness and warmth. "Not at _all_. Ya see, a few of my pals have relatives attending that school, and our organization's been interested in recruiting _kids_ lately. You could say it's an impromptu...ohhhhh, what's it called again?"

"Job fair?" the wild-eyed thug asked, sounding somewhat unsure.

"Job fair! Yeah, yeah, right, a _job fair_! I mean, after all, we've _always_ got job openings in our organization, and we could use all of the help we can get. And while we're at it, we could use that opportunity to shake the kids down a lil', see if we can weed out the ones who jumped me and my pals. Those kids sounded high school-age anyway, and it _is_ the only high school in town, so...it can't be_ that_ hard to find 'em." The thug sneered down at Nishiya, Takeyama, and Kamihara. "That is, of course...unless you cops are willing to actually do your _jobs_."

This time, it was Nishiya's turn to grit his teeth and clench his fists tightly. However, after a brief flash of anger, he took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and straightened out his tie.

"Don't you worry, sir," he said in a lifeless, droning voice. "We will find your attackers and bring them to justice."

With all of the ambivalence in the world, he bowed his head politely at the thugs.

"You have my word on that."

* * *

"So, uh, the officer said your name's Koji Koda?"

"U-U-Um..."

Nishiya peered up from his notepad and saw the teenage boy standing in front of him, his face as red as the police sirens flashing beside him. He was twiddling his fingers and wearing an expression of absolute mortification, with beads of cold sweat dripping down his face. Now that he was in close proximity to the would-be robbery victim, Nishiya could now see a huge juxtaposition in play.

After all, a boy of Koji Koda's size would normally be more confident in himself, but not in this case, apparently.

"Hey, kid," he said, catching the boy's attention again. "Sorry, but I need you to listen up."

"Mm!"

Koji almost slammed his face into his palms, and Nishiya could almost see the wave of shivering shoot up the large boy's body. The police detective couldn't help but sweat-drop at the embarrassing sight.

"Ne, Koda-kun," a voice piped up.

Nishiya looked beside him and saw Takeyama leaning forward slightly, wearing an uncharacteristically sweet smile on her face. Koji's attention was piqued by her, for he was peering at her through the gap between his index and middle fingers.

"Do you mind if I can call you Koda-kun?" Takeyama asked, and Nishiya suddenly felt as if he was listening to an entirely different person, someone who most definitely _wasn't_ his partner.

Meanwhile, Koji looked unsure. "Mm...ummmmm..."

Takeyama gave him a sweet, friendly chuckle. "Does your mom call you 'Koda-kun'?"

"Mmm..." Then, Koji bobbed his head up and down rapidly. "M-Mm-hm!"

"Awww, that's so sweet. And I bet you talk to your mom about a _lotta_ stuff. Am I right?"

"Mm-hm!" Koji nodded again. "Mm-hm!"

"And I bet you tell your mom stuff because you trust her, am I right?"

Again, more vigorous nodding. "Mm-hm!"

"Not anyone else, right?"

"Mm-hm!"

Then, all of a sudden, Koji remembered the circumstances of his situation. The energy left his body as quickly as it came, and the large boy turned his head away, his cheeks pink. An infinitesimal glimmer of concern passed through Takeyama's face before she smiled again.

"I know you're very scared, Koda-kun. And I understand if you don't trust us. We can wait for your mom to come and be with you. But I just wanted to let you know, Koda-kun, that we won't hurt you or judge you. You're not in any trouble at all. You can trust me."

Upon hearing that, Koji looked at Takeyama again, this time with a little awe speckled in his eyes.

Takeyama nodded at him. "Yes, that's right. You can trust me. There's no need to be afraid of me. Or my partner."

At that moment, Nishiya looked at Takeyama, slightly impressed. _"Building rapport, huh...?"_ he thought.

"We're only here to listen," she continued. "Do you understand?"

Koji nodded rapidly again.

"Good, good. Now, my partner and I are, uh, on a time-crunch, so I need you to answer his questions to the best of your ability. Is that alright with you?"

Koji looked at Nishiya for a moment and scanned his form from head to toe twice. After the second time, he bit his lower lip in hesitation. Then, he finally nodded, slowly but surely. With his trust gained, Takeyama took a step backward, and Nishiya saw his cue.

"Alright...Koda-kun," he said. "What were you doing out here?"

"G-Go-Go-Going h-ho-ho-home f-fr-fr-from s-sc-sc-sch-school..." stammered Koji.

"I figured." Nishiya wrote down the answer on his notepad. "And you said you were cornered by those three men over at that mailbox." He pointed towards it. "Now, did they say anything? Anything at all?"

"St-St-Stuff." Koji began to shiver. "Th-The-They were dr-dr-drunk. A-Are they g-go-gone?"

"Yes, Koda-kun," Takeyama replied quickly. "They're gone. They do not know you're talking to us. You can be as truthful as you need to be."

"O-O-Okay." Then, Koji's eyes lit up. "Th-Th-Then I-I heard th-the ri-ri-rin-n-n-ging!"

Nishiya's head perked up. "Ringing? R-Ringing, you said?"

"Y-Ye-Yes..." The boy's face turned red from his outburst. "L-Li-Like a-an a-al-alarm cl-cl-clock..."

"Like an alarm clock..."

Nishiya pursed his lips and tried to think about all of the possibilities. Then, on a hunch, he pensively raised his wrist and showed Koji his wristwatch.

"Like this?"

He pressed on a small button on the wristwatch, and it began beeping. As soon as he heard the noise, Koji's beady eyes widened in remembrance.

"Th-Tha-That's it!" the boy exclaimed.

"So you heard a watch beeping," Nishiya commented as he began writing the findings down. "A timer, perhaps..."

"Then what happened, Koda-kun?" Takeyama asked.

"Th-Th-Then th-the R-Ra-Rabbit M-Man a-appeared!" Koji cried, his voice now more energetic than usual.

Nishiya stopped writing. "The..._Rabbit Man_?"

"Y-Y-Yeah!" Then, Koji started fiddling with his fingers again. "W-We-Well, h-his c-co-costume l-lo-looked like a-a r-ra-ra-rabbit..."

_"A costume...that looked like a _rabbit_..."_ Nishiya thought. _"Why does that sound..._familiar_?"_

_**"But...your intervention during one of their crimes gave us an excuse to bring them in for a crime we can actually stick them with. And for that, we are eternally grateful for you, Midoriya-kun, even if your, uh...**_**methods**_** were a bit unconventional."**_

Nishiya felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. He promptly clicked his pen off and hurriedly stuffed it back into the breast pocket of his coat.

"Thank you very much, Koda-kun," he said. "I think you've said enough."

Koji blinked in surprise. "H-_Huh_?"

"Hm?" Takeyama looked at her partner, mystified. "What is it, Nishiya?"

Nishiya ignored her and absentmindedly reached into his other breast pocket. "Your mother should be coming in a couple of minutes. Just stay here with the other officer and wait for her..." He procured a small card and gave it to the large yet meek adolescent. "Here. C-Contact me if you remember anything else."

Once Koji took the card, the detective turned around on his heel and walked off towards his and Takeyama's cruiser in a hurry. Stunned, Takeyama ran after Nishiya, nearly stumbling on the street from her surprise.

"Why, Nishiya?" she asked. "What came up?"

The only response she got from him was a heavy sigh and what sounded like a muttered curse. She puckered her lips in irritation.

"Hey, Nishiya! I'm _talking_ to you!"

She could only hear more muttering and grumbling from him, even by the time they both reached their vehicle.

"Oi! Nishiya! You _listening_ to me?!" With gritted teeth, she grabbed her partner's shoulder. "OI!"

Nishiya glared at her with ferocious eyes. "WHAT?!"

"God fucking DAMN it!" Takeyama stomped her foot down. "I'm asking a goddamn question, Nishiya, and you're _ignoring_ me?! Have some respect for your partner!"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, so _now_ we're partners?"

"What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Nishiya simply ground his teeth together. Then, with a deep breath, he unlocked the vehicle, opened the door, and got in on the driver's side, with Takeyama mirroring his movements on the passenger side. As soon as they were inside, Nishiya took another deep breath and clutched at the steering wheel. A heavy, awkward tension started forming inside the car, a tension that was accumulating and threatened to spill over.

Finally, after a few moments of silence, Takeyama spoke again.

"You done having a fit for no apparent reason?"

"It's _not_ for 'no apparent reason'," grumbled Nishiya.

"Then what is it? If it's important to this investigation-"

"It is." Nishiya stared out of the front windshield. "I just don't know if I want to admit it..."

"Oi, stop being all mysterious and shady on me-"

Nishiya finally had enough. "I know who Koda-kun's savior is, okay?!"

The silence returned, but this time, it was more cold and horrifying than awkward and tense.

Then, Takeyama said, "Oh."

* * *

**A/N:** Well, that about concludes this chapter! I sure hope it was worth the wait. But if a lot of you jumped ship because you couldn't afford to wait any longer for an update, then I understand completely. Just know that I'll be doing my best to update this more frequently, preferably on a monthly basis, but a semimonthly updating schedule is also possible. In the meantime, I will be working on another "My Hero Academia" project.

Oh, yeah! Speaking of new "My Hero Academia" projects...

I know I promised that my next project would be an Izuku/Class 1-B fic, but unfortunately, as time passes, my interests have shifted to the MHA/MCU crossover that I mentioned before. I know, I know, I sure am quite indecisive. This is going to be something you will expect from me down the road. Anyway, my interest and passion for such a project has become so strong that I already have a few chapters done for that fic. So yes, I'm officially committed to the MHA/MCU crossover and will be publishing it soon. Damn right, it's a finalized project.

Don't worry, you guys. I'm still hard at work world-building the Class 1-B project. I'm feeling very excited about it, and I think there's a LOT of potential in the AU that I created, but I really want to hit the mark and do it right. Plus, the story's yet another AU (huh, I'm sensing a lil' pattern here) focusing on a somewhat popular but lesser-known Izuku pairing just like "Hero Club", and I don't want to be known for solely writing those kinds of fics. I also want to try my hand at writing fics that are completely set in the canon timeline, without any divergences in the continuity, and revolving around more mainstream ships.

Now, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:

**-Raizen1125:**

**1)** You should definitely come out of retirement! There's no time for writing like the present! :D :D :D

**2)** Yeah, the deconstruction should be fun. But it won't be as brutal as one would expect. I intend to give all our heroes a happy ending, regardless of the challenges that threaten to pick apart their worldviews in this realistic AU.

**3)** Thanks! I'm glad I've been keeping you motivated in your works! I do hope that motivation hasn't diminished because of the five-month wait you were forced to endure. For that, I sincerely apologize.

**-Whitetiger789:**

**1)** Thanks! I feel like Mina should get more exposure in the canon, because she's a pretty fun character in her own right. Hopefully her development will come to a head in conjunction with Kirishima's!

**2)** No comment.

**-Lightgiver:** Oh, my God, thank you so, SO MUCH for thinking of that for my story! I'm so glad I was able to attract you with this premise! I know Quirkless AUs aren't the most attractive trend for "My Hero Academia" fanfiction, especially if they aren't done right. Fortunately, I am a madman when it comes to creative writing. XD Anyway, your praise humbles me, truly! :D

**-****SuperShadic2002:** Same with Lightgiver, I'm so happy you think this was an excellent read! I do hope you weren't put off by the five-month wait and jumped ship on me. Trust me, I'm still committed to finishing this; it's just that life can be a total bee-otch sometimes. :D

**-Red Riot (guest reviewer):**

**1)** Well, here's Chapter 15. Hope the wait was worth it.

**2)** Is that all you have to say in your review? I know it's a compliment, but please, pretty please, next time you review, I want specifics. What did you like about the chapter? What did you not like? Any comments or beliefs that I should know about? Any questions you might have? Please, I'd really like to be in the loop about these things so I can keep improving the story into something you love reading.

**-SilentReader97:** What makes you think that, if I might ask? I'm curious.

Well, hope you enjoyed this awfully late chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE! And always remember...PLUS ULTRA!


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